Revolving Time
by WhisperToTheWolves
Summary: Naru came back from England months ago and it feels as nothing had changed. Or has it? Mai has been having dreams about somebody that she can only explain looks like herself. She has no sibilings though. Something is happening to her that she doesn't know about. It has never been heard of before. Sounds like its interesting...Welcome to the Paranormal World. Cruddy Summer. R
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One

Dreams of death

**Disclaimer: I do not own Ghost Hunt no matter what T.T. I wish I owned Yasu and Gene!**

_It was hot. Way to hot to be real. Flames rolled up from the floor cornering her to the side of the room. She backed closer to the side trying as hard as she could to get away from the flames of heat. Sweat was pouring down her brow making it harder and harder for her to concentrate. The fire continued to grow sending flames directly up to her face and spreading across the Japanese style house. They flared when they caught on an emerald rug that was in the center of the room. The flames reached up and made contact with her face. Pain. She screamed. But no matter what she did the agony did not leave her side._

_'Gene!' Mai screamed 'Help me!'_

_ She couldn't breath. Her eyes weld up with tears that she knew had not only been created by her emotion, but by the smoke itself. The smoke around her seemed to burn her from the inside. The pain in her lung intensified, and she sunk to the floor, crying. _

_ 'Naru' she sobbed 'Help me please!'_

_If at all possible it got hotter.' I don't want to die! Please!'_

_ And somehow she knew she wasn't going to get out of this alive._

_She felt one bright last flash of pain before suddenly she was nowhere near any heat. It was actually quite cold. She was in a black world with white floating lights._

_ 'What the hell?' Mai thought 'I could have sworn…'_

_ She glanced around the place. For an instant, she could have sworn she saw Gene's face._

_Gene?_

_As quickly as she appeared she was sucked down under water. A faint image of a woman stood above her, as she started to drown in the black, murky water. Again she started to choke. 'I can't breath!'_

_ She tried to swim back up but something was pulling down on her legs. Looking down, a rope had been attached to her ankle with a rock connected to it, weighing her down._

_ She tried frantically to pull the rope of her ankles, but to no avail. Water filled her lungs as she struggled to breathe. _

_'I don't want to die!' she screamed_

_ Just as she thought it as over, the vision changed. _

_ She sat in the forest breathing heavily. Her ankle caught under a tree root. A woman stood above her a gleaming knife in her hands. Her face was darkened by the trees, so her face seemed more malicious than it should have been. She had long black hair that reached the middle of her back. Her face was covered in freckles and she had pale grey eyes. She would have been beautiful if she had not been about to kill Mai. 'You're going to die.' She said calmly, as if she were reiterating her thoughts. 'And I'm the one who is going to kill you.'_

_ Mai screamed and yanked her foot as hard as she could from the tree root. It broke free with a snap. She jumped to her feet and dashed as far as she could. Looking back the knife the woman had held was now in the ground the same placed that her head had been moments before. Mai froze. She tried to move her body and it ignored all her commands. 'Move' she screamed in her head, for she could not move her mouth to make the words. _

_ The woman grinned murderously. 'Can't move can you? Of course you can't. I've placed a spell in this forest. No woman can move unless I give her permission. Every female under the age of thirty will die by my hands. You all are the same. Lying cheating wenches.' She snarled_

_ 'THEN WHY?! YOU'RE FEMALE TOO!' Mai screamed in her thoughts back at her._

_ The woman looked dazed for a minute as if he had heard Mai . Many emotions crossed her face._

_Finally it set back into a smile. 'To bad you're going to die' she grinned ruefully 'or I would have taken the time to explain why I'm doing this. Unfortunately I must get rid of Hotaru before she blabs to the rest of your 'friends''_

_ Mai didn't know who Hotaru was, but she was pretty sure she knew who her 'friends' were. SPR. Mai gulped and frantically thought of a way to get away from this horrid woman. She squinted deep into the forest. She could see something in the distance. It sparkled and gleamed, begging to be seen. Taking a deep breath, she concentrated as hard as she could to break to spell the woman had over her soul. Surprisingly, it broke, and she sprinted as fast as she could toward the light. The closer she got, the bigger it got. The woman was enraged by now, no doubt furious that her spell had been broken and that her victim was getting away. Her screams of anger could have been heard from miles away._

_ The woman obviously did not exercise very often because Mai slowly gained distance and speed. The white light seamed to pulse with life and Mai grabbed onto it with a sense of relief._

_Her stomach felt like it was pulled and she had the strange feeling like she was going to throw up. She closed her eyes fighting the urge to be sick and took a deep breath. After a few minutes she thought about that crazed woman but still refused to open her eyes. This last dream would most likely relate to a new case that they would be getting. She most especially remembered the woman's face and …. What was the name? Haruka?... No… Hikaru… No…Hotaru… 'Yes I think that was it'. She sighed. _

_ She then thought about why Gene. Why was he not there? He normally had been in her dreams. There was a few in which he had not been. Like her dream at the Urado mansion. That had been a first person death dream. It had not been quite like this one. This one didn't feel like it was somebody else's memories. On the other hand neither did her first death dream. She sighed again._

_ She had been having this kind of dreams for months. This was the only dream that had seamed to relate to SPR. _

_ Of course she had not told Naru or any of the other members of SPR. They would probably be worried about her for no reason because she could not do anything about her dreams. They weren't something she could control. The only one she could talk to them freely about was Gene._

_ Mai opened her eyes to a world of black and white lights and sighed but this time in relief. She slowly got her feet and waited for a few seconds until she saw a figure walk toward her. His Black hair and blue eyes glowing against the black distance._

_ "Gene!" Mai cried happily "Where were you?! I was scared to death. You normally get me out of those kind of dreams before they get to bad."_

_ He smiled sadly and said "I tried, but unfortunately that last dream has to do something with your next case."_

_ 'Well what about the other dreams?"_

_ He shrugged "They were all in one night. I can't separate the dreams and get you out of them especially sense the last one I can't get you out of and the others were first…" he trailed off leaving me to my own devices. _

_ "Anyways you probably should wake up. Your alarm clock is going off and you need to get ready for work. Don't want to be late for your new case!"_

_ Mai groaned "Whatever." _

_ Then, Eugene Davis put his hand on her head and pushed her backward while his laugh echoed into the black abyss._

** Beeeeep! Beeeeep! Beeeeep!**

Mai groaned and rolled over to try to block the offending noise from her ears. She hit her hand over her little night table till the beeping stopped. Sighing, she got out of her bed and went to the bathroom that was in her room, and took a shower.

The inside of her bathroom was very simple. White walls with a white seat, and cream colored floor. Mai had yet to pick a theme she had wanted for her bathroom. She hadn't really had the time either.

Mai stepped out of the shower and put on a black skirt with a white tank top. After brushing her teeth and hair she headed back into her room and got her over the shoulder bag. She then proceeded to head to SPR.

Mai hadn't even noticed she was there till she subconsciously walked up the steps. She opened the door and put her bag on the coat rack. Looking up, she saw Lin and Naru sitting with a woman. She couldn't see her face but she had long black hair that reached to the middle of her back. Instantly, she thought of the woman in her dream. She shivered.

Shaking her head to rid the thought, she headed to the kitchen to prepare tea. Not knowing that Lin and Naru were watching her reaction to the woman with interest.

Not turning around to notice, Mai put the kettle on the stove and turned it on high. Waiting for the tea to boil Mai tried to remember all the details of the dream. When the kettle finally screeched, she headed back into the room with 4 cups of tea.

Walking into the room, she finally saw the face of the client as she was about to put her tea on the table.

It was her, from her dreams. The woman who had tried to kill her.

Mai froze and all the color drained from her face.

Mai shuddered and slowly set her tea on the table and walked back to SPR's side of the table. She sat down slowly, keeping her eyes on the client, as if she were afraid she would attack her right there. Lin and Naru studied her with interest, but said nothing. The client watched Mai with a confused expression and asked "May I ask who this young lady is?"

Mai flinched at the sound of her voice. She sent chills up Mai's spine.

"She is my assistant. Please continue stating your case."

Mai wasn't looking at him, so Naru snuck a look at her shaking form. She had gone deathly pale, her eyes were wide and she couldn't stop shaking. The back of his mind was worried for her, even if his current thoughts wouldn't admit it. He was going to refuse this case, but Mai was undoubtedly going to say that the family was in need of there assistance. Saving himself the trouble, he listed all the facts of the case that he had so far, in his mind. It was going to be dangerous, and probably life- threatening case.

This was going to be an interesting couple of days.

**(AN: This is my first story so please be nice. My best friend DiamondInMyHeart is helping me create this story. She is a great help to me and I'm dedicating this fanfiction to her! I want to know how this is so please review! if you have any questions PM me.)**


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

Meeting a Client

Mai was scared. No, Mai was beyond scared. The woman that had tried to kill her in her dreams was sitting here right in front of her. Mai also knew that she was as pale as a sheet of paper, but she couldn't help it. Images of her dream kept replaying back to her in slow motion. The knife. Mai flinched. She saw Naru look at her from the side of his eye. She was aware of the fact that he was watching her even when she wasn't looking and he thought she couldn't see.

Mai tried to focus into her story, knowing that some things aren't always what they seem.

"Well my daughter keeps seeing apparitions. Also, according to her she keeps having the same nightmare over and over again in her dreams for the past week and a half. We have never had anything paranormal affect us before these incidents occurred."

"In her dreams?" Naru interjected "What do you mean by that?"

His eyes flicked over to Mai's shaken form a few moments before looking back to the woman.

The woman had apparently noticed his gaze and her eyes rested on Mai. "She has the same dream over and over again. She says there is a dark figure in the dream and that all she sees is a that thing killing a person."

"Are there any difference to these dreams at all?" The woman's eyes shifted back to Naru's, to answer his question.

"She says that every time the only thing that changes is the person that is being killed."

"Hmmm" Naru hummed "has there been any other sort of activity around the house?"

"Yes" the woman stated "In the west wing of the house it will be cold, even if the heater is on high. Sometimes we will hear women crying, and they won't leave until I walk down the hall. I haven't actually heard them. Everybody else in the house hold has but when I appear they all suddenly stop crying."

Naru glanced at Mai out of the corner of his eye. She had seemed to calm down mostly. Her eyes were still a little wider than usual and she was pale, but only her hands were shaking now. Naru could tell that she was calming down. Naru then turned his attention toward Lin, raising one eyebrow. Lin raised an eyebrow in return and momentarily had stopped typing.

Mai observed this quietly with an eye roll. She almost swore they were telepathic with each other. On the other hand, they were the most silent people in the world and people like them probably had some kind of secret language. The thought of Naru, Lin and a group of people creating a secret language using only eyebrows, eyelids, glares, smiles or head shakes, sent Mai into a fit of giggles. The rest of her worries lifted off her shoulders and her scared mood evaporated. Lin and Naru stared at her with emotionless faces. Lin raised both eyebrows at the same time.

'_Probably sending Naru a message like 'See? I told you she was crazy.'' _Mai laughed harder at her own thought. She was laughing so hard tears were running down her cheeks.

Naru had no clue as to what idea was running around in Mai's head. Instead he just sighed and turned back to the client.

"Ma'am, you never told us what your name was."

The woman looked at him for a second then responded to his question with widened eyes. After realizing her mistake she spoke. "Oh, my. I'm terribly sorry! My name is Yamada, Sakura. I only have a daughter because unfortunately my husband died a few years back."

When Mai heard the last few words, without even thinking she automatically stopped laughing and responded. "I'm sorry for your lost." Mai's eyes briefly sparked panic but subsided into pity.

Sakura flashed a soft smile." Its ok but my daughter has taken it like it was her own personal fault. He died after he tried to save her puppy from a burning building. He had brought her out of it just as our daughter was crying about the dog, Ryu. Then he rushed back in after realizing we couldn't find him. None of us knew that the puppy had already made it out, and was safe."

Mai's thoughts flashed back to her first dream. No way.

"Yamada-san, was the house a Japanese style with an emerald green rug in the center of one of the rooms?"

Sakura's eyes widened dramatically at this statement. "No way… how did…. How did you know that?" she whispered.

Mai's eyes darkened at the memory and her eyes glazed over as she thought, not realizing that everyone was waiting for her response. The fire….the smoke…. The feeling of being burned alive… What a horrible way to die.

"Mai," Naru's voice cut in to her thoughts "We are waiting for an answer." Naru and Lin were staring at her with as much curiosity as they could get away with, and still be themselves. Sakura on the other hand was staring at Mai with an expression between horror and fear.

"First person dream." She whispered softly. Naru was about to roll his eyes and say that nobody could hear her when she spoke like that, when he saw the brimming tears that had formed in her eyes. He instantly thought of something related to the subject that would make her cry.

"You had a dream." He whispered in a hushed tone. Nobody but Mai could hear what he was saying.

Mai nodded and the motion caused her brimming tears to roll down her cheeks. Followed by a shuddered sob that shook her body. Mai brought her small hands up to her face to cover her brown eyes. Naru knew what is felt like to die in a vision and decided not to push it for now. He had had many death visions in the path, but he had never had a fire death vision before. He had no idea how it felt. Mai probably wouldn't be able to answer right now with all of the shaking her body was doing again. Naru would ask her later at a more appropriate time, and when she wasn't crying in a horrible break down.

Naru briefly looked up at Lin and there eyes met. Lin's eyes widened in understanding, before they went back to normal and he started typing on his laptop again.

Naru looked up at Sakura. "Yamada-san, we will take your case. Expect us tomorrow at around noon with our team. Leave your contact information with my assistant." He nodded at Lin, who took the hint and grabbed a small notebook and a pen. After writing her information down and putting the notebook back on the small table, he escorted her out the door and returned to his domain with his one true love (the laptop).Naru followed him with his eyes without once looking at Mai, so that he gave her time to compose herself once again.

Sighing, Naru turned to look at her. Her eyes were still tearing and they were red, but she was no longer shaking and her face was out of her hands. She looked much better than she had a minute ago. He turned to the table and grabbed the abandoned notebook and pen before turning back to Mai. Asking very calmly he said "Can you tell me about your dream, Mai?"

Mai's eyes snapped up to look at him at the sound of her name. She sniffed once more before responding. "Um… yea. It was a Japanese styled house. It had a green rug in the middle of the floor. The whole place was set in flames, and I was choking on the smoke in the air. The place had obviously been set on fire for a while; because everything was in flames. I remember it being really, really hot as if the air itself would burn me. The fire burned me a couple times in the face." She said absent mindedly rubbing her cheek softly. Then she shuddered "That hurt a lot. It was the last thing I felt before the vision stopped." She bit her lip as she tried to remember all the details. After a few minutes Naru asked "Is that all?"

Mai thought about it for a second before nodding several times. They sat for a few moments before Mai looked up at Naru's face. His expression was thoughtful. The he caught Mai staring at him and he smirked. He leaned in really close to Mai's face, and watched as her face went from pale to fire engine red. "Mai," he whispered "…tea."

In that quick instant Mai's blush was gone and it was replaced by a new scowl. "Yes your highness." She said sarcastically, before marching off into the kitchen muttering about how narcissistic people lacked manners.

Naru smirked again and retreated to his office '_Mission accomplished.'_ He thought. '_Because angry Mais' were a lot better than curious or upset ones.'_

10 minutes later Mai marched into Naru's office and set the tea down hardly at his desk as he calmly read the report for tomorrow's case. She was about to march straight out the door when she heard him speak.

"Are you feeling better?" he asked in a soft tone. Mai turned around to see him sitting at his desk still staring at his folder for the case, but the question had obviously been directed at her.

"I've had better days" she mumbled "but I can't say that this has been a really bad day."

Naru smirked behind the folder. A typical Mai response.

"I need you to call the team and give them the address for the case. Tell them we will meet them at the house at noon and not to be late."

Mai sighed she was really not surprised by this statement. "Yes boss" she mumbled

"Oh and Mai?"

Mai turned around to look at Naru straight in the face. He had a serious expression on.

"You never answered my question."

She sighed again and said "I feel better and I will live. I don't ever want to have a dream like that again." She rolled her eyes. "The likeliness of that happening though is slim to none." She offered a smile at Naru and waved as she walked out of his office and shut the door behind her.

Mai left as Oliver Davis pondered _'What could have happened with Mai?'_

* * *

**_(AN: Hey guys tell me what you thought of this chapter! If there were any gramical mistakes let me know and I'll fix them. This chapter Is dedicated to Gothic-Wolf-Hart! She was the first reivewer for chapter one! :D Please review I want to know what you thought. Also, MusicalTear drops, I made a mistake. Its accually next chapter not this one sorry! Dont hate me! T.T)_**

**_Not much else to say..._**

**_-WhisperToTheWolves_**


	3. Chapter 3 Part 1

Chapter Three

More Questions, None Answered -Part One

_She sat in the forest breathing heavily. Her ankle caught under a tree root. Sakura stood above her a gleaming knife in her hands. Her face was darkened by the trees, so her face seemed more malicious than it should have been._

_'Please don't kill me' Mai begged with her eyes, not having the courage to say the words out loud._

_'You're going to die.' Sakura said calmly, as if she were reiterating her thoughts. 'And I'm the one who is going to kill you.'_

_Mai screamed and yanked her foot as hard as she could from the tree root. It broke free with a snap. She jumped to her feet and dashed as far as she could. Looking back the knife Sakura had held was now in the ground the same placed that her head had been moments before. Mai tried to move faster but she froze. She tried to move her body and it ignored all her commands. 'Move' she screamed in her head, for she could not move her mouth to make the words. _

_Sakura grinned murderously. 'Can't move can you? Of course you can't. I've placed a spell in this forest. Every female under the age of twenty will die. You all are the same. Lying cheating wenches.' She snarled then grinned again. 'But do you have any last words? I feel like being nice today so you can have back your speech.' Sakura flung her arm in the general direction of Mai. Mai could feel her vocal vibrate at her ability to talk again._

_'Why are you doing this?!' Mai sobbed 'I haven't done anything to you!'_

_Sakura grinned. 'Your right, you haven't. But humans have. The world won't know if I get rid of one more.'_

_Sakura moved forward the knife gleaming in her hand as she advanced on Mai. Mai took a deep breath and closed her eyes as the knife lodged into her chest. The only thing Mai could hear was her own scream and the last thing she saw was her murder standing in front of her until everything went black._

Mai shot up in her bed as sweat rolled of her forehead, and onto her pillow. After recapping her dream Mai curled into the fetal position and started to cry.

She cried for a long time until she could cry no more. Even though tears would no longer come to her eyes Mai was still shuddering and sobbing into her pillow.

'Why do these things happen to me?' Mai thought miserably. Gene couldn't save her this time either, so that just made her worry. 'What if he won't be able to save me form my dreams anymore?' She started hiccupping and shake at the thought.

Eventually Mai stopped hiccupping but was still shaking as she sunk deeper into the blankets. With her head sticking out, Mai stayed in bed, never getting out of it even to stretch. She did not want to go back to sleep for fear of having the dream again, even if that was very rare. She rolled over and looked out her window instead. The sun had not risen yet, so she waited for it to rise.

The first hint that the sun was coming up was the small flashes of pink and orange that covered parts of the sky. Minutes passed as more flashes crossed the sky. Mai had stopped shaking, and sobbing. It wasn't going to do her any good. All her tears were dry now. All that led on she was crying were her red eyes and tear trails.

Finally the sun had risen and Mai was calm. She slowly sat up and looked at her alarm clock.6:00. That meant it wasn't even scheduled to go off for another 2 hours. Mai sighed and slowly crawled out of bed. This was the one day that she was not thankful to be a Sunday. Once she was standing up straight she headed to her bathroom to take a long nice shower.

Half an hour later, Mai was dressed and sitting at her eating toast. She didn't feel like having a normal breakfast. After she finished eating she put her plate in the sink. Grabbing her bag and sweatshirt, she headed out the door toward SPR.

It only took her 15 minutes to arrive at SPR. Surprising herself; she was there before any of the other SPR irregulars. Being the work-a-holics as they are though, Naru and Lin were both present. Mai had only just hung her bag and sweatshirt on the coat rack when Naru walked into the room.

Naru was surprised to say in the least. Mai was here an hour and forty five minutes before she was supposed to?

"Mai," Naru said "What are you doing here?"Mai jumped at the sound of Naru's voice not realizing that he was there in the room. She turned around to meet standing there with a curious look in his eyes, though his face was neutral.

"Umm…. I couldn't sleep. So I just came to the office early today."

Naru's eyes narrowed at what she had said. Mai couldn't sleep. Mai slept all the time. In fact, Mai not sleeping was almost in heard of. Naru dismissed it anyway. "Tea." Was all he said before he walked back into the dungeon known as his office.

Naru closed his office and waited for the sounds of a frustrated Mai. As if on cue stops were heard all the way toward the kitchen and the slamming of the teapot onto the stove.

Lin must have heard it too because Naru heard the typing from the next room momentarily stop. The squeak of a chair told him that Lin had left his office. Walking into Naru's without knocking, he asked "Is Taniyama-san okay? She seems off."

Lin glanced back into the main room. "She got here early, which she never does. Do you think she is sick?"

Naru thought about that idea for a few moments. It was possible he supposed, but wouldn't she have been showing signs? If she was sick or getting sick wouldn't her body have wanted to sleep in later and not have to get up early to save energy and fight it off?

"No" Naru said finally "I don't think so." An idea slowly unraveled itself into his head. "She could have had a dream though."

Lin's head popped up so fast Naru thought it might fall off. Lin stayed shocked for a few moments longer before composing himself.

"She just had one though. Has she ever had a dream so close to another?" Lin asked

"No." Naru said slowly. "Not that she has told me anyway." Naru glanced up at the clock. It was 8:15. Another fifteen minutes before Mai was supposed to be clocking in.

"You could ask her if you want to. What she does in her spare time is her choice."

Lin nodded. He waited a moment before heading to the kitchen. From inside his office, Naru listened in on there conversation.

"Taniyama-san is there a reason why you are here so early? You don't clock in for another 15 minutes."

Naru heard a small scream of surprised and he stood up from his chair and walked into the main room. He got there just in time to see Mai burn herself.

* * *

Mai had not seen nor heard Lin as he walked into the kitchen. She was busy fixing Naru's tea when Lin unexpectedly asked her a question.

"Taniyama-san is there a reason why you are here so early? You don't clock in for another 15 minutes."

Mai screamed in surprise and almost dropped to teapot she was holding. She saved the teapot at the last second, but hissed in pain as some of the hot water was jostled out of the pot and onto her hand. She quickly put the pot back onto the stove and grabbed her now burned hand.

Suddenly, out of nowhere, Naru grabbed her hand by the wrist, turned on the faucet to cold and stuck Mai's hand underneath it.

The burn instantly cooled but her face immediately started burning a bright red in its place. She looked up at Naru with wide eyes.

"W-when did you get here?!" Mai squeaked

Naru looked at her coolly "10 seconds ago."

Mai nodded quickly causing her head to swim lightly. She stopped nodding. Naru smirked then turned his head so that he could look at Mai's hand.

"It not a bad burn. 1st degree maybe borderline 2nd. It should heal within a few days time."

Mai sighed. She always got hurt like this, even when she wasn't on a case. She grabbed to tea pot and pored some of the tea. She handed it to Naru and preceded to hand Lin his coffee as he came back with a small first aid kit. Mai looked in surprise at it but only sighed again. With out a word Lin started to pull anti-burn salve out and some bandages. He swiftly bandaged her hand. Grabbing his coffee, he headed into his office quietly.

'_Is that his way of saying sorry?' _Mai wondered quietly as she and Naru watched Lin retreat into his office. The door shut quietly.

With a sigh, Mai headed off toward her desk to deal with the numerous files that had seemed to double. Naru walked to his office without saying a word until he stopped at the door.

"Try not to burn your self again… Idiot" He retreated into his office leaving a half angry half confused Mai sitting alone at her work desk.

10:00a.m…..

"Hey everybody! Mr. Awesome is in the house!" Monk entered the office following quietly by a sleepy looking Ayako and a smiling John. He slammed the door behind him.

Mai looked up at him in irritation. "Do have to be so loud? You're irritating. Its only ten in the morning!"

Monk looked at her "Aw! Am I annoying my little sister!?"

Mai faced palmed into her two hands wincing as her head hit her injured right hand.

"No I just said you're irritating not annoying. Leave me alone." She glared with as much strength as she could muster at the time. It must have worked because she had the satisfaction of seeing Monk flinch. Unfortunately his happy-go-lucky attitude reappeared once again.

"Mai," Monk stared at her in fake horror. He turned to John and started shaking him by the shoulders causing him to go dizzy. "She's caught the Lin and Naru disease-Antisocialism! We have to do something!"

At this moment, Naru unknowingly made the wrong choice to walk in. Hearing the situation he decided to comment on the obvious.

"Monk, if you're going to be loud, do something useful." He said not once looking up from his folder.

Ayako stopped be so sleepy and was wide awake. She started giggling and John just sweat dropped. Monk immediately started to sulk in the corner of the room.

"He is the Emo corner right now" Mai whispered to John. She watching in amusement as he jumped, not seeing her get out of her chair and walk over to him. "Don't bother him right now. It could be hazardous to our health." She whispered again.

Ayako smirked at what Mai said but quickly turned her attention to the reading Naru. "When are the others going to appear come?"

Naru looked at her with a bored expression in his eyes. "Ms. Hara is going to meet us there tomorrow, and Yasuhara is going to be here soon."

As if on cue, Yasu came though the door talking in a sing song voice "Oh Naru, I knew you would talk about me while I was gone."

Naru gave him and everyone else flat stares as they all burst into giggles. "If you are all done playing childish games, we are going to leave." He turned to Mai. "Did you bring your suitcase?" Upon hearing no response, he sighed and said "We will stop by your house on the way to the scene." He turned his head to the rest of the crew. "You can leave now. We will be there as soon as we can."

Lin came out of his office and exited the building without saying a word to anybody. Looking out the window you would see him getting into the front seat of the van that held all of the equipment.

Everyone was chatting happily except Mai and Naru. They walked in silence down the flight of stairs and got into there designated vehicles. Lin started up the van and started to drive the car onto the street. Mai was still a little disturbed about her dream from the night before. She sat quietly. The only time she talked was when she told Lin to turn on a street to get to her apartment.

The car's soft purr came to an end as they reached Mai's apartment. Without saying a word, she swiftly unbuckled her seatbelt and got out of the car. Naru quickly followed suit.

Mai stared at him for a moment when she saw Naru following her but she brushed it off. Mai walked up the steps and pulled the key out of her small pocket. She unlocked the door.

Naru looked inside the apartment. It was small but looked very inviting. The walls were colored a beige color and the kitchen was to the right with a small alcove where you could put stools to eat at. In the small dining area was a small coffee table much like the one that sat in SPR. To the left of the table was a small hallway that curved a little at the end.

Mai rubbed her hands together as she and Naru stepped into her apartment.

"I'm going to go and get my bag. Ill be right back."

She dashed down the hall before Naru could respond. A few moments later she came out with a black suitcase that was rolling behind her.

Without a word Naru grabbed her suitcase and walked out the door.

"Hey Naru! What are you doing? I can carry that by myself!"

Naru turned his full attention to her with a bored expression. "Do you really think that you can carry it down the stairs without falling?"

Mai stuttered. Naru smirked and picked up the bag while walking down the stairs.

* * *

Lin watched Naru and Mai from the van. They went up to the apartment and Naru watched as Mai fumbled with her keys. Two minutes later, Naru came out holding a black bag followed by a flustered looking Mai.

Lin took one look at the situation and pieced two and two together. Flustered Mai+ Naru carrying a bag= Naru probably thought Mai couldn't carry her own bag and carried it for her. Lin raised an eyebrow at Naru, who chose unsurprisingly to ignore it. He opened the trunk and set the bag down in the back.

Mai slid into the car and stared muttering out the window. Naru slid into the seat next to her without saying a word toward the stuttering Mai. Lin swore he caught 'weird emotionally retarded scientists' in the mix. His eyebrows decided to rise higher and disappear into his hairline. He shrugged his shoulders and started the van, moving onto the main rode and heading for the clients house.

* * *

Mai laid her head on the head rest of the seat muttering how scientists were weird and emotionally retarded. '_Narcissistic people are tough to deal with.' _she thought. Suddenly Mai got really tired. Her eyes felt really heavy and it was hard to move her body. She closed her eyes and everything went dark.

Naru turned his head to look at his assistant in amusement. In less than 5 minutes she had fallen asleep sleeping against the back of the seat. She had dark circles under her eyes. Naru frowned. How much sleep had she got last?

Lin frowned in the rearview mirror. "She looks pale."

Naru nodded in agreement. He watched her for a little bit before he turned his head to the scenery. Outside the car, trees whirled by and there were no animals that were calling. Strange.

Suddenly the car made a sharp turn. Mai shifted in her sleep and landed with her head leaning against Naru's shoulder. Naru jumped slightly in surprise not expecting anything to land on him.

"Sorry," Lin said form the front seat. "Almost missed the turn."

Naru nodded once and kept looking at Mai. Normally she looked younger she slept. (Plenty of that to see when she was sleeping when she was supposed to be working)

Now with the dark circles, pale face, and shallow breathing, she looked older than 17. Slowly Naru readjusted Mai for a second so that he could take of his jacket without disturbing her. Gently he laid it over her. After a second, she readjusts again and grabbed tightly on to his jacket while tucking her head into his shoulder again. Naru sighed. Reaching into the back seat, he pulled a book that he was in the process of reading and opened it to where he had left off.

From the front seat, where Naru wasn't looking Lin smirked. '_What Madoka would do to see this.' _he thought.

**(An: This is the end of Part 1! This chapter was too long for only one. I'm dividing it into two! Review and I might put the other part up tomorrow! This part and the next one are dedicated to lucia newa and lici910! lucia newa for being the first reviewer and lici910 for talking to me over PM and giving me advice for this chapter! Please Review!)**

**-WhisperToTheWolves**


	4. Chapter 3 Part 2

Chapter Three- Part Two

More questions, None answered

_**(Disclaimer: I dont own Ghost Hunt... boo hoo T.T)**_

_'I'm tired. I don't want to keep running' Mai thought. Loud bangs from behind her made her jump and keep going. _

**_'I HAVE TO FIND IT! I HAVE TO FIND IT! SHE CAN SAVE ME! I HAVE TO FIND IT_**_!' Something inhuman screamed._

_Wait! Find what? Me?_

_Mai kept running down the dark tunnel. The only thing guiding her was her instinct. It was going to kill her. 'I can't leave. I can't find the exit! I'm trapped! Help me! I'm going to die!'_

_As the last thought kicked into her system she ran faster than she had ever before. Soon though she began to tire, her body wanted to rest. She stumbled over to the wall and slumped down. The tunnel wasn't very large. It was damp everywhere and reeked with the scent of something she could not identify. It was the worst thing she had every smelled. She gagged and covered her nose with her hand._

_After a few minutes of eerie silence she stood up, still holding her nose tightly. Slowly she started to walk again in the direction she was heading before. She hoped that this was the way out. She didn't want to be stuck in here forever._

_The room got cold really fast and Mai could see her breath. She started to shake uncontrollably. An inhuman scream echoed of the tunnels._

**_'THE WORLD WON'T KNOW IF I GET RID OF ONE MORE!'_**

_Mai shook in her spot. 'Move! I don't want to die! I'm going to die!'_

_She broke whatever it was that held her captive, and started to run. The thing behind her screamed in inhuman rage. She was at full speed now but she knew she would not escape. The creature grabbed her from behind with a brown hand with long claws. Mai struggled against it. She ripped herself from its arms and turned around to look at it and screamed so loud it hurt her own ears._

_The thing was brown in color with black horn at the top of its head. It had red eyes with black pupils. Black leathery wings covered its back. The claws on its feet and hands were covered in dried blood. Its tail flickered back and forth twitching in frustration. It opened its mouth and let out a shrilling ear- piercing scream._

**_'THE WORLD WON'T KNOW IF I GET RID OF ONE MORE!'_**

_Mai screamed in pain as the creature pounced on her and started clawing at her arms and legs. The pain was agonizing. It felt like her limbs were on fire and she was being hit by a train at the same time. She screamed again. 'Please I don't want to die! Naru! HELP ME!'_

_Suddenly Mai went numb. She couldn't feel much anymore. She still felt pain, yes. But for some reason the world around her seemed to be getting darker and darker. Eventually her world faded into darkness. She stopped resisting as she heard the demon's voice._

_'__**THE WORLD DIDN'T KNOW I GOT RID OF ONE MORE!'**_

_It screeched in horrible laughter and that was the last thing she heard as she vanished._

Naru looked up at his assistant as soon as he finished the last page of his book. Her breath was coming in deep breaths as if she had run a marathon. And she had gone deathly pale except for her cheeks witch were a bright red. What's wrong with her?

"Lin." Naru said. Lin looked at him through the rearview mirror. "How much longer until we get there?"

"A few minutes. Why?"

Naru looked up at him then stared knowingly at Mai. Lin's eyes widened and he nodded. The van increased speed. In her sleep Mai had started whimpering, tears leaked out of her closed eyes. When Naru thought Lin wasn't looking, he brushed away the tears.

Minutes later, Lin was parked on the curb of there clients home. Monk, Yasu, Ayako, and John were all waiting outside of the house talking to each other. Upon seeing the van they all headed toward them still joking among themselves. Naru opened the door and got out. Mai fell on the seat, still sleeping. More tears had formed in her closed eyes. This effectively shut all of the irregulars up.

"What's wrong with Mai?" Monk asked with a crease in his face.

Naru looked at him with a cold glare. "If I knew what it was do you think I wou-"

Mai screamed. Everyone immediately rushed over including Naru and Lin. She was thrashing in the seat. Her face was wet with tears and she as franticly clawing at something that wasn't there.

"Mai!" Naru yelled "Stop! There is nothing there!"

Mai continued to struggle against his grasp. She was pulling away from him further into the car.

In all of the commotion, Sakura and a little girl came running out of the house. They were both breathless.

"What is going on!?" Sakura exclaimed looking at Naru struggling with Mai.

Monk tried to explain but he was cut off before he even could talk when Mai screamed into the air again. Apparently Ayako could not take this anymore, as she grabbed Naru and moved him out of the way. She got in to the car and gave Mai a hard, but quick slap on the face.

Mai's eyes sprung open and she hurled herself into Ayako's arms, crying incoherently. Ayako sighed as she smoothed back Mai's hair back from her face and whispered words of comfort into her ear. It did not help though as Mai still sobbed without showing any sign of stopping.

Sakura stood in front of them with wide eyes. She stared at the crying young girl and the miko that hugged her.

When nobody answered she sighed "Well I'm glad that nobody was hurt. If you come with me, I'll show you to your base."

Lin followed her into the house as everybody watched Mai cry in Ayako's arms. Slowly Mai's eyes closed and her sobs stopped. She had fallen asleep.

Lin came back out from the house and turned to Naru. "I'll take her to the base if you guys want."

Naru shook his head and walked over to the miko. Without a fuss, Ayako slowly released her hold on Mai. Naru leaned over and picked up his jacket. Without saying a word he throws it over the unconscious Mai. Picking her up bridal style, he brings her out of the van. Lin said nothing as he turned around and headed in the direction of the base, Naru closely following him. Everyone else in the group (except John) started snickering at seeing Naru carrying an unconscious Mai. The tense atmosphere disappeared immediately.

Naru carried Mai into the base and sat her down on the black sofa. His jacket slung over like a blanket. Naru turned around not expecting to see John holding his jacket out. Naru takes the jacket and folded it into a square. He placed it under Mai's head.

"Do you think she is going to be okay mate?"

Naru nodded "She's Mai."

_The light… It's so bright…_

Mai sat up quickly. An 'ouch' and a pain in her forehead made it apparent that she had hit someone on her way up. Rubbing the sleep out of her eyes, Mai looked at her unsuspecting victim.

"Sorry Monk. I didn't mean to hit you."

"It's ok," he grumbled "I didn't know you were up. I should have expected you to do something like that."

"Hey?! What is that supposed to mean?! You jerk!"

Monk laughed. Mai looked around. "Where are we?"

"We are in the base at the client's house. AND" He wiggled his eyebrows "Naru was the one who carried you in here."

As Monk suspected, Mai blushed and started to stutter. "I-I uhh. What?!" she squeaked.

Monk laughed again, and then he turned serious. Mai immediately noticed the difference.

He took a deep breath. "Mai did you have a dream?" She nodded.

He released a breath that he hadn't realized he was holding. "Okay. I will be back. I'm going to get Naru. Stay here."

Monk waited until he got a nod from Mai before he stood up and headed for the door.

Mai waited on the couch in disappointment. Before she knew it, the room was dark and cold.

"Burr! Why is it so cold in here?"

Mai got off of the couch and was going to start jumping to warm herself when she turned around. She screamed.

The demon was standing there, in all his glory, watching Mai with a nasty smirk. It showed all of its blood stained, pointy teeth. It took one step toward Mai and she stepped back one, terrified. Its grin seemed to grow wider. The smell of it was horrible. Mai took a deep breath and made a dash for the door. The demon screamed and lunged at Mai, pulling and scratching her ankle. Mai screamed.

Bursting through the door was Naru, Lin, and Monk. Monk started chanting and Lin whistled. The demon screamed and vanished into thin air as Lin's shiki hit him in the chest. Mai sunk to the ground crying in fear and relief.

"Mai!" Monk yelled, running over to her. "Are you okay!?" Naru and Lin stood by anxious, even if they didn't show it.

Mai nodded, hiccupping. Monk started to pick her up but then he saw her ankle. His eyes widened dramatically. "You ankle." he gulped.

Mai looked down at her ankle. It was bloody and scratched up. She hadn't even noticed the pain. "Hmmmm." She said "You might want to get Ayako." Monk nodded feverishly and left the room looking kind of green.

Naru walked over to her and held out his hand. She sighed and gladly took it. She hopped over to the couch and sat down gently. Ayako came bursting into the room with a first aid kit in hand. Naru took a few steps back from Mai as Ayako zoomed in on her and knelt down to her foot. She started cleaning it immediately.

"Mai," Naru said. She looked up at him. "What happened in the car and why did the demon attack you here?"

Mai took a deep breath and started the explanation.

**(AN: Hope you like it! PM if you want to ask anything. Please Review! These two parts are dedicated to lici910 and Musical Teardrops!. lici910 for talking to me over PM and giving me advice, and Musical Teardrops for being the first to review part one!**

**I love your reviews! You guys are awesome! They make me happy! They made me so happy I updated immediately! ^v^**

**Thank you all for reading! Review if you want me to update. The next one is where it gets interesting!)**

**-WhisperToTheWolves**


	5. Chapter 4

Chapter Four

Everyone Has a Reflection

"That's all of it." Mai said solemnly.

Mai just finished explaining to everybody what she saw in her dream, including the demon and what it looked like. Everyone was listening except Yasu and Masako. Yasu had gone to a nearby library to look up information and Masako was sensing the house for spirits. She had shown up early. She entered while Mai was explaining. Naru immediately told her to go sense the house, despite her obvious dislike to the request.

"What about when Monk left." Naru said, glaring at said Monk out of the corner of his eye. Cold shivers went up Monk's back.

"Well as soon as Monk left it got cold I was standing up trying to warm myself, when I turned around and saw the demon. It laughed….. I think…. Then it lounged at me. I tried to get away from it but I couldn't. Then and it scratched my ankle."

"Hmmmm," Naru said "Do you know why it attacked you?"

"Umm I don't think so. I don't remember doing anything to provoke it."

Naru nodded and raised his hand to his chin, thinking deeply.

"Anyway," Mai said awkwardly "I'm going to go to bed because I'm tired. Later!"

She stood up, but a cold voice stopped her in her tracks "Don't go alone. Ms. Matsuzki walk her back to her room."

Mai knew better than to argue with her boss, so she accepted her faith and waited for the doctor to finish bandaging her leg. After the doctor made her lecture to the monk about leaving Mai alone, she walked back over to Mai. Monk watched her with sad eyes that were filled with sorrow. Mai left the room, Ayako trailed closely behind her. Ayako's eyes were a reflection of Monks, sad. She was silent the whole time that they walked to their room. Mai watched her when Ayako was not looking. When they arrived at the door to the room Ayako left Mai without a word to her.

Mai stared at her back as she left, worry in her eyes. _Did Ayako and Monk get into a fight? _Mai was going to talk to her the first moment she got. She was to tired to talk to her right now though, so she just changed into her night clothing, and jumped into her big soft bed. She closed her eyes and was sucked underneath by darkness.

_Mai opened her eyes and was met with the blackness of the astral plane. As usual white light floated above her head and underneath her feet. Mai stood up and looked around expecting to see a vision. Maybe Gene would be here this time. Mai smiled softly._

_'I wish Gene were here' she thought. She closed her eyes to stop herself from crying._

_In truth she was scared. What if he wasn't here? What would she do if he had passed on? She didn't know how to guild herself yet. She needed him here to do that, and to help her along the rode she was being forced to take._

_Another part of her mind wished that she could do it by herself so that Gene wouldn't have to stay by her and could pass on and be at peace. Once she had asked him if she was a burden and if he could pass on. He only smiled and said that he was her guild and he would be here because she needed him and when she could do it by herself he would pass on. Mai told him that she felt guilty that she was stopping Gene from having happiness. Gene had only laughed and said that she was being silly. He could pass on when he wanted to. He chose to stay here and be in her dreams._

_Mai opened her eyes and the tears over flowed. She wiped her face with the back of her hand. Crying wasn't going to get her any where._

_'Alright.' She said softly "let's see what I'm supposed to see.'_

_She looked around the place in the distance was a light. It sparkled different colors. It changed from white to red to blue then back to red again. She got a bad feeling that it wasn't going to be good, but she also had another feeling that said she should see what it was. She started to run toward it even though her instincts were practically screaming at her not to._ _As she got closer to the light it grew in size, whether that was because of the distance or the light itself was unknown to her._

_When it was two feet away she longed at it with all her might._

_Her stomach felt like it was being pulled and she closed her eyes and put a hand over her mouth, for fear of throwing up. She felt her body shift as if it were going into a new dimension in time. When she opened her eyes she was not expecting to see what she saw._

_There was a standing Gene staring at her with a confused expression mixed with shock. He opened his mouth to talk. His lips were moving but Mai could not here anything that was coming out of his mouth._

_'I can't hear you' Mai shouted 'What are you saying?'_

_If at any possible, his expression became more confused. Then they shown in understanding soon changed to horror. He looked behind him and turned around. He started to back up slowly. He spun around again and faced Mai. He made shooing motions with his hands telling her to get away. He had a panicked expression and Mai did not understand what he was trying to do._

_'Gene! What's wrong?! Why can't I hear anything you are saying?!'_

_Gene's eyes grew wide. He froze and he had tears running down his cheeks._

_'Gene,' Mai sobbed 'tell me what's wrong! PLEASE!'_

_Mai hoped that for as long as she lived she would never again see what she was about to see._

_Gene just smiled sadly and watched her with pity. That was when his lips moved. She heard nothing, but she read his lips perfectly._

_'I'm sorry.'_

_Then Gene clutched his head and let out a soundless scream. He collapsed and sunk to his knees, still soundlessly screaming. He fell to the ground completely his back to the nonvisible ground. He stopped screaming and just soundlessly sobbed into his arm._

_Finally still sobbing, he vanished into thin air. Everything went dark._

_'Gene!' Mai called her voice echoing into the darkness. 'Where are you!? What did you mean you sorry?!'_

_Then it hit Mai. She screamed in agony. Her body felt like it was on fire. She fell to the ground. All peace was gone, replaced with agony and sheer terror for, as her body curled in pain. _

_'I don't want to die!'_

_Just when she thought she was going to die. The pain stopped. Instead she could not move a single muscle in her body._

_'What's going on?' Mai thought 'I can't move.'_

_It was in that moment something sharp latched onto her ankles. It was sharp but not painful. The thing grabbed onto her tightly, before it started to drag her across the floor. The word lit up with light and Mai waited for her eyes to adjust. She could see to the light was coming from whatever was dragging her. Still not knowing where she was going, she could only pray someone would rescue her._

_'Naru! Somebody! HELP!_

"Hello everyone!" Yasuhara sang as he ran into base room.

Everyone in the room, (excluding Mai, Ayako, and Masako,) sent him glares. John was the only pleasant looking one, though he had a troubled expression on his face. Monk and John were sitting on the couch. Lin and Naru were sitting next to the monitors which had been set up while he was gone. He took in the poor expressions of the group and sat on the couch whistling they all looked at him. _How can he always be so chipper? They all thought._

"What's wrong with all of you? You look down." Yasu said looking at each of the members face.

"Mai has already been attacked by the creature staying in this house, plus a vision. This house is no doubt haunted. What information did you find?"

Yasuhara studied him for a second his face serious before he slipped back into his regular attitude "None. Zip. Noda."

Naru raised an eyebrow "You found no information. At all?"

Yasuhara shook his head with a grin. "The only thing I found was about fifty years ago a guy died of a natural heart attack. He was seventy-two." He looked around the base.

"Where did all the ladies go? I mean I know they are irritating sometimes, but did you have to send them away?" He wiggled his eyebrows.

Naru closed his eyes in irritation. "Mai is in her room and Ms. Hara is doing a walk through with Ms. Matsuzaki."

Yasuhara raised his eyebrows "So let me get this straight. Something showed up, attacked Mai, then you guys let her go back to her room by herself?"

Everyone froze. _Oh crap..._

Everyone jumped out of there seats in an instant, rushing for the door all at the same time.

"Mai" Naru yelled loudly. It echoed throughout the house. No response.

They rushed down the hall and tried to open Mai and Ayako's door. It was locked. Naru took a few steps back and rammed the door. It wouldn't budge. In all the commotion Ayako and Masako came running down the hall, trying to find out what the noise was about only to almost run into Naru ramming the door. His eyes were blazing.

"Lin!" Naru called.

The tall assistant gave a quick nod before he whistled and rammed the door. The door flew of its hinges and landed with a loud bang on the ground.

The SPR members flashed into the room seeing nothing out of the ordinary, at first, then they took a closer look and everyone gasped. There was Mai lying in her bed like any normal person.

Except for the fact that she was glowing.

The glow surrounded her and made the room an ice blue in color. Suddenly Masako gasped and sunk to the floor looking straight at Mai with large, scared, confused eyes.

"Two Mais?" she murmured, staring with wide eyes at the young girl.

"What?" Monk snapped "What are you talking about?!"

Masako was cut short by a scream that cut through the air like a knife.

"Mai!" Naru yelled. He and Lin tried to make their way over to the unconscious girl but Naru was thrown against the wall with a hard smack. He slid down the wall, momentarily dazed. Lin looked dizzy as well and his face was filled with confusion. He shook his head violently to make the dizziness go away. Taking a step backward, it vanished.

Mai screamed again, this one filled with pain and suffering. She started to thrash around in her covers trying to get away from an unknown source. Naru once again stood up and tried to run toward Mai but again was thrown against the wall.

"Naru stop that! It's not helping and you're just going to get hurt!" Lin yelled

"What else do you suppose I do Lin!?" he yelled back. "Mai is my assistant! None of us have any idea of what's going on!"

"Naru! Have you forgotten?! Taniyama-san is a friend of all of us! Get you act into gear and think! Stop acting like a child!

Naru growled and clenched his teeth. "Can your Shiki stop whats is happening?"

Lin face fell from anger to frustrated "No."

Mai screamed in pain again which caused all the SPR members to pay attention to her.

Masako gasped "Mai is being dragged!"

The SPR team looked at her in confusion and looked to the sleeping girl in the bed.

"What are you talking about Masako!? This is not time for jokes!" Yelled Monk

"Her dream you idiot! I can see her spirit! She's about to astral project!"

"There is no way that we can stop her." Said John, who had stayed silent all this time, wore a look of horror on his face.

Masako gasped and her eyes rolled back into her head. She fainted and collapsed to the ground. John barely caught her arms to keep her from falling completely to the ground. He gently handed her to the miko who looked her over for any injuries.

The screaming stopped and Mai stated choking. Blood came from her mouth and got on the front of her night clothes. It sunk deep into the fabric.

The team sat in misery as they could not do anything to help her.

_Mai had finally stopped being dragged and was let go of. She stood up in a hurry and was dizzy. She choked and spit what ever was in her mouth out. Blood covered her hands and she screamed. She fell over backward and she cried into the darkness. Then ahead of her another light shone. But to Mai, this one seemed different._

_It pulsed with life as if it were alive. Mai's tears calmed and she reached out toward the light with curiosity. The closer she got to it the warmer she felt. _

_She reached out both hands and grabbed it. Slowly she brought it in to her closer. With a movement faster than the speed of light it dashed went into the center of her chest. She gasped and felt her chest heat as I she was standing next to a fire._

_'__**Will you accept me?'**__ Mai gasped. The voice was inside her head._

_'Who are you?! And what are you doing inside my head!?'_

_All the voice said was '__**Will you accept me?'**_

_'It could be a spirit' Mai thought to herself. Taking in a deep breath she said_

_ 'I accept you.'_

_Mai's body flared in heat and she felt fuzzy all over. She felt that before she hadn't been complete and now she was. She felt that everything was right with world._

_'Thank you for accepting me' said a voice inside her head.._

_Mai spun around and looked at the stranger who stood there. She had hair the same color of Mai's but it was down to her waist. With shock Mai realized and looked at the stranger who stood there._

_The person who stood there was…Herself?_

**_(AN: HAHA! And the plot is out ( a little bit at least)! Do you guys like that? Review and let me know so that I can edit it in the future chapters. This chappy is dedicated to all of the reviewers who have stayed with me from the beginning!_**

**_Thank you all! You are so awesome and I really appreciate it.)_**

**_ Unfortunately I probably won't be able to update for the next week as I am going to my dads I will try but I can't make promises! :(_**

**_-WhisperToTheWolves_**


	6. Chapter 5

Chapter Five

Danger in someone else's eyes

**_(Disclaimer: I Don't own Ghost Hunt or the characters…. Boo Hoo T.T)_**

**_(AN: Long chapter hope you like it. I decided not to split it into two…)_**

_'Mai, wake up soon.' _ Naru thought as he watched Mai lay quietly in her bed.

The SPR team had been waiting for Mai to wake up for the past half an hour, all of them glanced at her from time to time. Masako was getting visibly annoyed with how much Naru was looking at Mai. Her glare sent daggers at the unconscious girl. If looks could kill, Mai would have died the moment Naru looked at her for the first time.

Naru pinched the bridge of his nose._ When Mai wakes up…tea! _ Naru thought.

He looked at Mai, vaguely noticing at irritated medium behind him. The light around Mai had not ceased in its continuous bright blue glowing.

"When is Mai going to wake up?! Geez!" Takigawa complained from his spot, leaning against the wall.

"Your one to talk Houshou! When I try to get you up in the morning you barely move!"

Ayako and Monk both blushed bright pink and looked away from everyone else's staring eyes. Yasu's eyes twinkled and he smirked mischievously. Naru and Lin sighed. They knew what was coming. Ayako just had to say that in front of Yasu.

"Hmm." Yasu said "Ayako, Why would you be at Monk-san's place so early in the morning?"

Ayako and Monk simultaneously chocked. John coughed and blushed bright red at what had been implied. Masako was covering her face with her the sleeve of her kimono. Yasu's grin grew wider. He turned to Monk with a fake sad expression on his face, his lips in a pout.

"I thought we were together." Insert Yasuhara's fake tears. "I thought you loved me!"

Yasu got his desired reaction and Monk's eyes grew wide and he shivered.

"Shonen please don't do that! You're going to drive me insane and the old hag is going to put me in an insane asylum."

Everyone laughed except for Silent Man one and Silent Man two. Lin did snicker once though. A set of coughs brought all of them out of their joy. Turning to Mai she was slowly fading from the glow surrounding her. Naru and Lin cautiously walked over to the bed and leaned against it. Naru put a finger to her neck and counted her pulse. Lin checked to make sure she was breathing correctly.

"Is she going to be okay?" Monk asked anxious.

"Her pulse and breathing are at a normal pace. I believe she will be fine." Lin responded, rare for the Chinese man. Normally he would have stayed quiet.

The whole group sighed in relief. Naru vaguely heard John say a thank you prayer to the lord. The tension in the air had lifted and everybody but Naru was talking freely among themselves. Even Lin made small chat with John.

Naru lifted Mai off her bed. She wouldn't be safe in here without somebody watching her. Securing her tightly so she wouldn't fall, he carried her to the base. Nobody but Masako saw him leave. She followed them without another word.

Naru did not know that he was being followed. He was to intent on getting to the base and laying Mai down so she could rest. He walked into the base and set Mai gently down on the couch. Going to the nearby cabinet he pulled out a blanket and threw it on top of her.

His face softens as he watched her sleep. People say People always look younger when they sleep. Naru now deemed this true. Mai looked a lot younger than 17. So had Gene's.

When he had left for England to bury Gene's body his thoughts always wandered back to Japan and all of the experienced he had with the team he created. The people he grew to know.

He had left his guard up when he met everybody. Yet even as he did that, they all broke his shield and pushed themselves into his head. He grew to except them. But they hadn't even realized what they had done.

This girl however, was the one who hadn't pushed. She just let Naru do what he wanted and he slowly eased himself out of the dark holes he had made for himself. The holes that he had created when he had let the grief from losing Gene overtake him. The hole began to get smaller and smaller and it was barely even there anymore.

Naru could still see Gene in mirrors and he still had conversations with him. But It wasn't the same. After he had met Mai he began to see the good in it. He could still talk to Gene, he could still see Gene, and Gene helped Mai with her dreams as a benefit.

People would do anything to be able to do what he could with Gene.

Watching Mai, he wondered how one small group could do all of these things without even realizing it. Standing up, he headed to the monitors. He stopped. Noticing a small pillow on the floor near the couch he headed back to Mai and picked it up. He slipped it underneath Mai's head paused to see if he had woken her.

Nope. Mai was still fast asleep with her face relaxed. She grabbed the blanket even tighter and buried her head into the pillow.

_'In one year… nothing had changed… I'm glad.'_

Naru smiled. Actually smiled. Not the fake one he always gave to the clients, the real one. The one Mai had only seen once. He turned round and sat down at the monitors, waiting for the others to return.

Outside the door Masako watched as Naru threw a blanket over Mai. He sat down and looked to be in deep thought. Masako could only think of one thing

_'Why her and not me?' _

Masako had always wanted to be the one. The one who would end up with Naru. She would always hate Mai for it.

She was the one who always go all of the attention. She was the one who was never ignored by him. If she asked a question or if she was talking he would always listen.

Masako was never answered anymore. Before everyone else had found out Naru was Oliver Davis, she always got what she wanted. Dates, movies, anything. She also knew that it would do no good. Even still, she tried to make him see. That she was all he ever would need.

She had it all. Beauty, Money, A good reputation, and she even came from a good background. Why didn't Oliver love her?

Mai was the only one that he would pay attention to. She would never be in his sights….

Maybe she should just give up… nothing was going to change. But she refused to go down without a fight.

And with that Masako left the hallways and returned to her room.

Loud arguing flowed down the hallway and into the base. Ayako and Monk were at it again. Naru scowled. So much for peace and quiet.

The group entered the room and made a lot of noise. Naru was going to snap if they did not be quiet. Lin quietly grabbed his laptop and retreated to the corner of the room.

John seemed to sense this because he said "Hey you guys... you're going to wake Mai-san up." He pointed to the couch where a sleeping Mai was.

It was of no use though because they fought anyway. A groan from the couch alerted Naru that Mai was awake.

One moment Mai was looking at her reflection and the next she was hearing Monk and Ayako arguing with each other.

"Mai favorite color has to be purple!" Screeched Ayako.

"There is no way that's possible!" Monk yelled back " It has to be red! Purple is too girly!"

"She is a girl!"

Mai rubbed her eyes still confused. '_What a strange dream...'_

She paid attention to the argument that was being thrown. She was so not ready to get up yet. She scowled and picked up her pillow. She threw it across the room and it made contact with the back of Monk's head.

"_Be quiet!_" Mai hissed "It is to early for this! And you are both wrong anyway! It's Green!'" She sent death glares at Monk and Ayako then fell back on the couch with a thud. The fighting had ceased and everybody turned to look at Mai with Shock. She closed her eyes and pulled the blanket over herself. She willed herself to go back to sleep.

'_One, Two, Three' _Naru thought.

Mai sat up and screeched "HOW DID I GET INTO THE BASE!?"

Monk, Ayako, and John all winced and slowly left the room with nervous laughs.

She scowled at them and turned to Naru. "Well?" she asked.

Naru looked up from the monitors and smirked "I carried you here."

Mai turned bright red and she squeaked. She looked around the room in attempt to find something to distract her with. Naru smirked wider and turned his attention back to the monitors.

"Ummmm." Mai squeaked "I'm going to make tea."

Without waiting for a response she left the room and dashed down the hall.

Not a moment after she had left, Ayako, Monk, and John stuck there heads back into the room.

"Is she gone?" they whispered in unison.

It must have been the answer they all were looking for because they all sighed and walked into base. They walked to the couch and sat down on it with a sigh.

Inside his head, Naru smirked. '_Serves them right. They were the ones who ruined my silence.' _

Mai walked down the quiet halls. Even though there were no lights on in the hallway the only way you couldn't see the blush on her face was if you were blind.

By the time she had gotten to the kitchen she had stopped blushing and was calmed down. Mai yawned. She only slept for a few hours and when she got back to the base she was going to ask Naru some questions. She put the kettle on the stove and grabbed the tea bags from a nearby cabinet. Waiting for the tea to boil, she thought of her strange dream.

'_The light that had dragged me across the plan…. What was that? I couldn't see anything. The only thing I saw was a light. It's sharp was pretty strong. It was sharp and it didn't really feel like it was human… Could it have been an animal?' _Mai thought '_No, probably not. I have never been able to see animals on the astral plane before. I'll ask Naru when I go back to base. I mean technically it is possible…they are spirits. Right?'_

Mai sighed. She had no idea what to do about this. What was that freaky dream about? She couldn't even tell Naru because he might think she was a weirdo or something.

The kettle whistled bringing Mai out of her thoughts. She put a tea bag into each cup, seven in all. She started putting all of the tea cups on top of a tray when a pull on her sleeve made her jump. Looking down, a little girl with bright hazel eyes stared up at her.

"What are you doing in the kitchen, pretty lady?" she asked innocently.

Mai smiled. This girl was so cute! She had dark black hair that hung just below her tiny waist. Her large grey eyes were filled with curiosity. She wore a blue kimono that had sets of flowers all down it.

"I'm in the kitchen so that I can make tea for my friends." Mai replied "What is your name sweetie?"

The little girl grinned up at Mai with a smile that stretched from ear to ear.

"My name is Hotaru Yamada, What's yours? Are you here with the Ghost hunters?"

"My name is Mai Taniyama. But you can just call me Mai. Yes I work for the ghost hunters." She said with a laugh. "Your name is very pretty. Firefly right?"

Hotaru clapped and jumped into the air. "Yea! I like my name a lot. My daddy was the one who gave it to me." She said

"Really? My dad was the one who gave me my name too." Mai smiled.

Hotaru frowned and her eyes watered. She stated sniffling. Mai immediately stopped what she was doing and locked her attention on the little girl.

"I miss daddy." She whispered.

Mai sighed and set the tray of tea on the counter. Going onto her knees she put her hand on the child's shoulder. She looked up.

"I miss my dad too, Hotaru. I want you to listen to what I tell you next. Remember everything. Remember all of the good memories you shared with him. Even remember the bad ones. Keep them in your heart to never forget. He will always be with you even when you can't see him. He's in heaven now and he's happy. He's watching over you and your mother. And when it's your time to go you will get to see him again."

Hotaru's tears dried as did her sniffles.

"Really Mai-chan?"

Mai smiled "Really. Now come on. I have to deliver the tea to my friend before it gets cold."

"Okay!" Hotaru chirped. She grabbed Mai's hand as Mai grabbed the tea and started walking toward the base.

The two girls walked down the hallway in silence. They entered the base and shut the door with a small click. Naru turned the chair around and looked at Mai

"What took you so long? It shouldn't take that long to make tea."

Mai set the tray of tea down on the table and started distributing the tea out to everyone. She set two by the monitors for Lin and Naru.

"Well I ran to a little girl." She pointed to Hotaru. "I believe she is the daughter of Yamada-san."

"The daughter." Naru mused. He looked over at the small child. "Do you have strange dreams?"

The little girl jumped at his harsh voice and hid behind Mai "Protect me!" she squeaked.

Mai laughed and leaned down to her.

"He is not as scary as he seems." She took hold of both her hands "Do you have weird dreams sometimes Hun? You can tell us. I'm going to help you. I have weird dreams just like you do."

Her eyes sparkled. "Really?" Hotaru said

Mai nodded. "All the time. Do you have strange dreams?"

Slowly she nodded. "Sometimes I walk around in a tunnel and I will be attacked by a scary monster! It was really big and it has sharp teeth and wings on his back. But one time I was looking for something really special. I was digging trying to find it. I don't remember what it was. I'm sorry Mai-chan!"

She started to cry, and tears trailed down her cheeks. Monk and John looked away. They were uncomfortable with crying children. Hotaru kept whispering things along the lines of 'it was scary' and 'it was going to eat me'. Mai whispered comforting words in the small child's ear.

Naru brought his hand up to his chin and assumed the thinking pose.

_'Why is a little girl getting dreams from spirits? I doubt she is a psychic. This is the first time she has ever had anything related to the paranormal, according to Yamada-san. Also, where had this demon come from? We now have two witnesses who have both reported a creature with wings and sharp teeth._' Naru sighed. '_This is going to be a long case.'_

Mai whispered calming words into Hotaru's ear until she calmed down. Hotaru slumped against Mai's body and landed on her lap. Mai came to the conclusion that she had fallen asleep or was close to it. Looking down her suspicions were confirmed when the child's eyes were closed and her breathing even.

Slowly lifting the girl off her lap, she stood up and head for the door. As she opened the door she whispered "I'm going to put Hotaru in her room. She is probably exhausted."

Mai left the room and walked down the hallway. After wandering around for a while she realized she had no idea where she was going.

"Oh crap I just had to go and get myself lost didn't I?" she muttered. Mai was about to turn around and walk to other way when Sakura came from around the corner.

"Yamada-san!" she whispered

Sakura's head snapped up faster than the speed of light and she stared at Mai with wide eyes. She relaxed when saw that it was just her and she smiled at her sleeping daughter. She walked over to Mai.

"Thank you Taniyama-san. I'll take her to her room to sleep. She must be exhausted."

"Your welcome." Mai whispered back. "She fell asleep in the base and I was just about to go back and ask where her room was." Mai chuckled softly "Good night Yamada-san."

Sakura smiled and walked down the hall to which Mai assumed led to Hotaru's room. Mai sighed then groaned. She leaned against the wall for support.

"I'm so tired." She whined

"Then go to bed." Said a voice behind her.

Mai jumped at the unexpected sound. Turning around, Naru stood behind her with his arms crossed and an eyebrow up.

"Don't do that!" Mai complained "Jeez! I thought I had somehow gotten the stalker of the century to follow me around."

"Stalker of the… century?"

"Yea." Mai scowled. "Your brother is your partner in crime."

Naru rolled his eyes. "Childish." He muttered. He sighed and dropped his arms. He turned around and started walking. "If you are going to bed sleep in the base."

"What?! Why do I have to be in the base?! I haven't even been attacked yet! Wait yes I have…. Not the point!"

"Earlier we went check on you. You were glowing, Mai. When we tried to approach you we were thrown back by an invisible force. After you stopped glowing, I carried you to base. We have yet to figure out why the phenomenon happened in the first place. Lin is doing research on it this very minute."

"Uh…" Mai said.

"Either way," Naru said "You are to sleep in the base and will always have somebody around to watch you. This will stay that way until we find an answer or until this case is over."

"Fine." Mai sighed "Let me just get my stuff first."

Naru was about to nod when Mai dashed down the hall without another word. He almost face palmed in frustration. He had just told her that she was to have a person around her all the time then she runs off alone. With a sigh, he ran after her.

Surprisingly it had taken him longer to catch up to Mai than he thought. She ran fast for someone that was so short. Naru needed to work on his running more especially if he had Mai on his team again. With another deep breath, Naru increased his speed.

Turning around a corner, Naru slowed to a stop to see Mai staring at him with a confused expression. Naru was panting hard while Mai wasn't even out of breath or tired besides the obvious lack of sleep that is.

"Naru, why are you out of breath?"

"Does it look like I exercise every day to run after my assistant?" he wheezed

"Yea." She said. Realizing her words, she blushed bright red and stuttered.

"Umm t-that's n-not what I m-meant."

Naru smirked. While he hadn't expected her to say something anything along those lines, he was prepared for everything.

"Well Mai, I'm glad to know that I look great enough to fool the eyes of the stupid."

Mai's blush dropped right then as did her expression. She scowled. Can't he be nice once in a blue moon? He as always such a jerk all the time! (AN: little does she know…: D)

Mai rolled her eyes. Turning around, without saying a word of insult toward her boss, she headed into her room.

Going to the inside bathroom, she brushed her teeth and hair. Naru stared at her in silence till she rounded on him.

"Why are you watching me? It's kind of creepy…"

Naru scowled. "Im not. When you are done brushing your teeth get dressed. I will be waiting outside the door."

Mai sighed She would never be able to walk by herself again.

The walk back to the base was silent as the two walked down the dark hallways. Neither one of them had said anything since they had left the room. The silence wasn't awkward, it was perfectly comfortable. Mai was the only one that Naru could walk along in silence (besides Lin) and have it not be awkward. Something bothered him though.

Mai was usually a very active and cheerful person. Being this quiet was unnatural for a person such as herself. Naru decided to break the steady silence by talking.

"Have you had any dreams?"

Mai looked at him with shock in her eyes before covering her expression with a façade. She rolled her eyes.

"Of course I had a dream. It was too weird to be a dream about the case though."

Naru said nothing in reply but gave her a look of disbelief. Mai eyes tightened as she walked in deep thought.

_'That dream was not normal at all.' _ She decided '_It was too random for it to be a dream made by my self conscious. It must be important but I won't mention it to Naru. Not until I can get a better understanding of what it is about.'_

Naru watched Mai as she walked in deep thought. '_What could she be thinking about?'_ He wondered. '_The look that she has on her face… I know that she had a dream. She won't tell me because she won't think it will be of any use to the case._' Naru internally sighed. '_She fails to realize that her dreams matter. Whatever, it didn't matter anyways.'_

The door to the base room glowed indicating that somebody was still awake. Naru held the door open for Mai as they both walked into the base. Naru looked at Mai then looked pointedly at Mai then at the couch. Mai huffed. '_HE WANTED HER TO SLEEP ON THE COUCH?!'_

Mai focused her eyes to the couch and noticed that the blanket from earlier was still there. Sighing very loudly, Mai made her way over to the couch and settled herself comfortably underneath the covers. Naru made his way over to where Lin was sitting and whispered softly. Lin nodded and stood up. Naru took his spot. His brows furrowed in deep thought. He grabbed the headset and placed them over his ears. Mai watched as the crease between his eyebrows got deeper. He whispered back to Lin. Lin nodded again. Naru looked over at Mai and waved her over.

Mai groaned "First you tell me to sleep, and then you tell me to get up. Make up your mind."

Naru rolled his eyes. "There is something you should hear."

He handed Mai the headset, which she took reluctantly. Putting it over her ears, she instantly heard loud knocking sounds that made her wince. Following shortly after was inhuman laughing and female screaming. Mai shuddered. This was not looking good for the team.

Naru nodded guessing her feelings. "These were the sounds picked up through the west wing of the house while you were sleeping." He paused watching her shiver again. "Get some rest. You will need it when you wake up. Either Lin or I will be in the base at all times, so you won't be alone."

"Okay… Hey Naru I have a question."

Naru looked up at her and raised an eyebrow. "What is it?"

Mai bit her lip. Should she ask him? '_Now or never'_ she thought.

"Is it possible for humans to see animals on the astral plane?"

Naru frowned. Not what he was expecting but… "Some spiritually strong humans can see animals on the astral plane. Generally though, it's not likely. If you get anymore stronger in that realm then you might be able to." He turned back to the monitors.

"Sleep and I'll answer anymore questions you may have in the morning."

Mai nodded glumly. She was glad that because Naru and Lin would be in the base nothing would happen to her. She smiled, but she could feel her eyes dropping with the strain of trying to keep them open. She rubbed them slowly. Stumbling over to the couch, she got underneath the makeshift bed; not taking notice that Naru was watching her.

Knowing that Naru wouldn't leave her alone and would make sure nothing bad happened, she closed her eyes. She knew he would wake her if anything major happened. She felt consciousness leave her.

What she didn't know was that night, she would dream.

**(An: Sooooo how do you like it? Hope you guys are happy with the long chapter! :) Let me know what you think! I really do want to know! I got to write more now….hopefully writers black won't kill me in the process. It will be a while till I update as I said I am at my dad's house. I won't forget you though! I promise I will update soon! REVIEW!)**

**(Seriously please review! I want to know if there is anything I should add of change!)**

**-WhisperToTheWolves**


	7. Chapter 6

Chapter Six

The Magic of Tea

**(Disclaimer: I don't own Ghost Hunt... I want to own Ghost Hunt... will never own Ghost Hunt...RATS!)**

Naru yawned.

It was midnight and Mai had been asleep for two hours. He was now running on no energy and had not slept in the last twenty four hours. Mai also had not made any tea since before they arrived at the client's house. He was almost tempted to wake her up so that she could make him so of his precious tea. He rejected that idea immediately, knowing how much Mai needed her sleep if she was going to do any work tomorrow.

Watching and listening to the monitors was a boring but necessary job. If they caught anything on the monitors they must wake up everyone to warn them. In the chair next to him, Lin typed on the laptop with shocking speed. Even Naru couldn't type that fast.

As if sensing his stare, Lin looked over at Naru with calculating eyes.

"You should get some sleep. I will watch over the monitors."

Not having enough strength to argue, Naru just stood up from his chair. He winced as the screech of it was the only real sound in the room for hours. He glanced at Mai to see if it had woken her up. Her angel face was relaxed and was not showing of any sigh of being disturbed.

Naru grabbed the coat that lie over the back of the chair, and put it on. He could have sworn he gave that to Mai. Lin probably threw it over the back of the chair when she had gone to her room to sleep. Naru must not have noticed.

He stretched. He was tired, but that was not an excuse to do any work. Grabbing the case file, he headed out the door.

"Sleep well." The Chinese man said. Naru nodded and left the base.

The hallway was silent except for the creaking of the floor as he stepped. It was almost unnatural for a hallway to be this quiet. His room was not far from the base. He entered the tidy room and shut the door with a small click.

Going into the bathroom he shut the door. This case was proving to be difficult. In one day they had found out many phenomenons happening at the site. The problem was they hadn't found any way of fixing it.

With a sigh Naru turned on the faucet and washed his face with the cold water. He shivered and brought the towel hanging on the wall and dried his wet cheeks. After drying his face he walked back into his room to grab his toothbrush and night clothes.

Heading back into the bathroom he brushes his teeth. After taking off his day shirt he attempted to put on the night one but failed when a voice stopped him.

"OOooh Idiot Scientist you are looking mighty fine!"

Naru turned toward the mirror. Nothing was out of place except he wasn't smiling and the mirror was.

"Gene? What are you doing here?"

Gene frowned. _Why is Noll not happy to see me? I'm his brother_.

"Is there a reason I should not be here?"

Naru's gaze hardened "You should pass over. You have no reason to be here anymore."

"Actually that is where you are wrong. I do have a reason to be here. Two really." Gene lifted his right hand and put one finger up. "One I have to watch over you." He lifted another finger. "Two I am still Mai's Spirit Guide. I can't leave until I know you will be taken care of and Mai can run her dreams by herself."

Naru hummed. That was true. Mai couldn't run her dreams by herself yet.

"Anyways," Gene's Face turned grave and Naru instantly paid attention. "Something is up with Mai. Earlier she had a dream that wasn't normal. I was talking toher one moment and the next I was in pain and she disappeared. I saw to light drag her away by the wrists. I don't know what they are and I will try to figure it out, but until then keep a close eye on Mai."

Naru frowned. "Before she went to bed she asked me if it were possible for humans to see animals on the astral plane. There might be a clue to help you there."

Gene smiled. "Thanks Noll." At the edges of Gene's body, his clothing was starting to blur.

"I assume it is time for you to go."

Gene smiled "You know what they say about assuming… but yea it is."

Gene started to shrink and disappear until only Naru's reflection was there facing him.

"Thank you Eugene." Naru said

In Naru's head he could have sworn he heard laughing and 'I'll try.' But he could have just imagined it.

Walking back into his room and got into the bed. He would reread the case file later, but for now he was too tired. '_The new information on Mai is more important than the case.'_ He closed his eyes and immediately drifted to sleep.

Lin typed furiously on the laptop. Ever since Noll had gone to bed he had been on the laptop. He was looking up every piece of information that he could on this place since Yasuhara had not been able to find anything at the library. He looked in new paper articles, websites, history, anything. He still had found nothing. Looking at the clock on the computer he noticed that he had been working nonstop for the past three hours. It was three in the morning and he needed to get some sleep as soon as the others got up at around six.

'Three more hours then I can get some rest.' Lin thought. He went back to searching. He looked over at Mai. Her face looked pinched like she was in pain. He stared at her for a moment, concerned, before turning back to his laptop. She probably was just having a bad dream. No reason to be concerned.

Noll had ordered Lin to do some research on what had happened to Mai and so far lin could not find any clues as to what happened. Lin had looked for a half hour before giving up. A loud beep shocked him out of his focus. It came from the equipment.

Lin turned to the monitors and looked to make sure the temperatures, cameras, and microphones were all right.

Wait.

Something was wrong. Lin checked the temperature in the base. His eyes widened.

'_The temperature is dropping fast!'_

_She was running as fast as she could, but she knew it wouldn't be enough. She knew that that night, she was going to die._

_She ran down the tunnels hoping that she was wrong. That she would make it out alive._

_Her wish was not granted. The demon showed up. Its teeth glistened bright red as its eyes lit them up. He hissed and tackled her. She didn't fight back. She just cried. She was to young to die. She was only twenty two. She had no family, no husband or children. She hadn't see n the world yet._

_Then she felt angry. That ghost team was supposed to get rid of this. To make sure that this never happened again. This was there job. This is what they were supposed to fix. They had failed and she had paid the price._

_As she was ripped apart the last thing she thought was 'Good bye Yamada-sama. I'm sorry'_

_The demon watched as the light from the girl's eyes faded. It screeched and laughed in victory._

**'THE WORLD WON'T KNNOW IF I GET RID OF ONE MORE! THE WORLD DIDN'T KNOW I GOT RID OF ONE MORE!'**

"KKKYYAAAAAAA!"

Naru vaulted up from his bed faster than anybody had ever seen. He knew who that scream belonged to. MAI!

Naru jumped out of bed and ran to the base as fast as he could. The screaming had not stopped.

"KKKYYAAAAAAA!" Mai screamed again

Naru slammed the door to the base to see Lin standing next to the couch covering his ears with his hands. Mai was screaming with her mouth and eyes open. Her eyes looked dead.

"LIN!" Naru yelled "What's happening?!"

Lin didn't have time to respond as the rest of the team came in to the base. Ayako immediately zoomed in on Mai. She ran toward the screaming girl and slapped her hard across the face.

Mai stopped screaming and life came back into her eyes. "Ayako." She whispered. Ayako nodded. Mai hurled herself into her arms and started crying hard. Monk ran his hand through his hair. "This is the second one for this case and we haven't even been here a day." Ayako nodded in agreement.

Naru's eyes darkened. Mai was the only one out of all of them that had these dreams. She didn't deserve to be tortured like this.

Before she had met SPR she was a normal high school girl. She had a normal life.

When he got the chance he was going to ask Mai if she really wanted to stay with SPR, or if she wanted to go back to her normal life.

When Mai stopped sobbing Ayako looked up at the clock. 5:30. she sighed " I'm just going to stay up with Mai. Lin you can go to bed if you want."

Lin gave her a grateful glace and left the room. Naru left the room as well.

Lin and Naru went opposite ways. Lin headed toward his and Naru's bedroom while Naru headed for the kitchen.

Setting the teapot on the stove Naru waited for the water to boil. In the meantime he grabbed a single tea cup and a tea bag. When the kettle whistled Naru poured the water on to the teacup and put the tea bag in it.

Waiting a few minutes for it to steep, he threw the used bag away. Putting the cup on a plate, he headed back toward the base.

Entering the base again her saw that Ayako was watching the monitors and Mai was laying on the couch staring at the ceiling. There was nobody else in the base. They must have gone back to bed. Ayako and Mai both turned their eyes when Naru stepped into the base. Naru walked immediately over to Mai and handed her the tea cup. Ayako watched this with surprised eyes.

After Mai took the cup of tea, Naru turned to Ayako. "Matsuzaki-san after I return you may go back to sleep."

Without saying another word he walked out of the base and headed back toward his room.

Mai watched as Naru left. She smiled into the edge of her teacup. Naru was being nice.

Ayako slyly smiled at her "Ooh didn't Naru give you tea after your nightmare on the Urado case as well?"

Mai blushed a bright cherry. He had. She looked away.

"He is just being nice that's all." She said

Ayako's grin got wider "Or maybe something else…"

Mai glared at Ayako. Nothing was going on between her and Naru.

Neither got the chance to say anything else as Naru decided to walk into the room at that moment. He had changed out of his night clothes and it looked like he had gotten a lot of sleep. He nodded at Ayako and she left the room with a sigh though not before winking at Mai. Mai internally groaned. She had the feeling she was going to be interrogated. Naru sat in the chair that Ayako had just been evicted from. He turned the chair around and faced Mai with what Mai could only describe as a sad stare.

"Mai, I wanted to ask you something." He said

Mai nodded. "What is it?"

"Do you want to stay in SPR?"

"What kind of question is that?" Mai asked, appalled.

"Just answer it." He said in a dead tone.

"Fine!" Mai said "Of course I want to stay with SPR! Why did you think that I ever wanted to leave?"

Mai saw Naru relax. _'What's going on with him?'_

After a few minutes he answered her question.

"You always get hurt on these cases. I thought that you might want to go back to a normal high school life. You wouldn't have to deal with any of this."

Mai thought about it for a minute. She burst out laughing and Naru gave her a shocked look.

"Naru." She looked at him. "Yes this job is dangerous. Yes this job might get me killed. Yes this job terrifies me…. But you have to realize I love this job. You guys are also like my second family." She looked at him and smiled " I want to stay."

Naru sighed. He should have figured that is what she wanted. He looked up and smiled. Actually smiled.

Mai stared at him in shock _'What the hell was he thinking about?!'_

Naru turned the chair around and he dropped the smile. Mai was glad. Sometimes a smile meant that someone was up to something.

"Go to sleep." He said. Mai smiled.

This time, she fell into a dreamless sleep.

**(An: You guys are freaking awesome! 40 Reviews! They make me so happy! ^v^. This chappy is dedicated to Musical Teardrops! You are awesome and your idea was great! XD If anyone else wants to send an idea leave it in the review or PM me with it! Especially case ideas... Update soon!)**


	8. Chapter 7

Chapter Seven

Taken

Masako walked down the hall toward the girl's room. Naru and Lin had left so there was no point in being around the base anymore. A blob of black walked past her and she was not noticed. '_Naru?'_

Masako walked down the hall following the man. He carried a cup of tea. '_He must have made it for himself.'_ thought Masako '_I wish he had hired me! I don't have the same dreams as Mai so I would be able to make him tea when ever he pleased. Instead he has to make tea for himself. Mai is such a stupid idiot!'_

Naru walked into base and she stayed behind in the shadows. When he had walked in completely she looked in through the crack of the base door. What she saw shocked her.

_'Naru gave Mai the tea!'_ she thought with fury. _'He has never given me tea!'_

Naru turned around and started walking toward the door. She scurried out of the way without making a sound. She hid in the shadows again. When he was gone she slowly started her walk back to the girl's room once again. She almost wished that she had never met Naru. If she had never met him, odds are she never would have met Mai and she wouldn't be in the situation she was now.

_'On the other hand,' _Masako glared '_It's Mai's fault too. If she had never met Oliver than I would be with him!' _

If anybody were in the hallway and saw Masako's glare they would start exorcising her. She sent out waves that nobody wanted to have. Suddenly Masako couldn't move.

She tried everything that she could to move. She couldn't scream for help.

A light grey mist filled the hallway. Masako now could see something in the mist. An inhuman growl was heard and a creature jumped in front of her. It was covered in a rust powder with what Masako could only assume was blood. The spell on her broke and she screamed. Masako tried to run but her feet were stuck to the floor. Slowly the creature came to Masako walking on four legs as it drew near.

"**THE WORLD WON'T KNOW IF I GET RID OF ONE MORE!"**

Masako screamed and the creature jumped on her shoulders causing Masako to fall back down on the cold wooden floor. The creature jumped off of Masako and started its inhuman laughter once again. Masako was barely aware of her consciousness fading as she sunk through the floor and into the darkness below.

* * *

A high pitched scream woke Mai from her slumber. Naru sat up in his chair quickly making Mai wonder if he had accidently fallen asleep.

Naru stood up and quickly looked behind him at Mai with wide eyes. They relaxed slightly when Naru saw that she was still there and was not the owner of the scream. The blue eyes hardened as soon as he realized it was someone else that had screamed. In a flash he turned back to the cameras and started fiddling with something.

Naru was relieved that Mai for once wasn't the one who had gotten into trouble. The problem was that if Mai wasn't the one who gotten hurt then SOMBODY ELSE had.

Naru checked the film for all the cameras. He rewound them starting from when Mai had finally fallen asleep. He saw a very angry Masako peeking in on the base. He watched as her face turned red and she storm away from the door.

He changed cameras as she shifted out of view of the one he was looking through. She looked as if to be heading for the girl's room. He was vaguely aware of Mai standing up from the couch and moving so she was right next to him. That wasn't important right now. Glancing at her from the side, he saw her eyes stare at the screen in great concentration. Mai gasped in shock.

Naru turned back to the screen and watch as Masako screamed and fell to the floor with the demon on top of her.

"Masako!" Mai whispered.

Naru's eyes narrowed in concentration as he focused on the small girl in the kimono lying underneath the demon. The demon hissed and laughed and watched as Masako sunk into the floor. She disappeared altogether and there was no sight that she had ever been there.

Mai jumped back and let out a squeak as the demon leapt at the camera. Its blood-red eyes bored into the camera and blood dripped out of the mouth of death. It screamed in rage and raised his hand as if to knock the camera over. After a moment of silence it put the hand back down and jumped to the far wall nearest to where Masako had been taken. Using the blood that had been on his claws before he had even attacked Masako, he started to write.

Naru squinted to try to see the words, but the demon wasn't writing very well and it was in Japanese. Definably not his strong suite. He turned to Mai.

"Can you read what it is writing?" he asked quickly

Mai shook her head. "I would have to be right next to it because it is really bad handwriting and I can't see it because that thing keeps getting in the way."

Naru cursed. He would have to wait till Lin was up so that he could go see the writing without leaving Mai alone.

"If you don't want to leave me alone then take me with you." Mai folded her arms across her chest. Naru stared shocked at her. Was she able to read minds now?

Mai smirked. "In case you are wondering, no I can't read minds. I can just tell what you are thinking. You're probably thinking that you have to wait for Lin to get up so that you can go and check out the writing without leaving me alone." She sighed "You never think about taking me with you." she muttered.

Naru kept a blank expression on his face. He could take Mai with him now or he could wait for Lin to get up and go later. Either way Mai would not be alone. However, the writing might disappear or scare the client before the saw it. He decided on his former decision.

"You will not leave my side." Naru said in a tone that rang finality. "Also, if we are attacked you will run back to base by your self if you have to."

Mai tightened her lips. Naru could tell that she did not like the idea.

Mai thought deeply. She didn't want to stay in the base until Lin or one of the others woke up, but she also didn't want to run back into the base if she and Naru were attacked inside the hallway.

She could almost see Naru frown. "Those are your only options."

Mai scowled. She had no choice in this matter. She knew that Naru wanted to go and see the writing. Stupid Narcissus. He almost always got what he wanted.

"Fine." Mai grumbled.

Naru almost smirked in victory. He always got what he wanted.

"Then lets go." He said calmly.

He grabbed a flashlight on the way out. Never know when the lights will stop working, especially in a haunted building.

Mai got a bad feeling as she and Naru walked down the silent halls. It was too quiet. Almost like in a horror movie at the climax when the music suddenly stops and something is about to jump out at you.

The only thing Mai could hear was her heartbeat and her shallow breath.

Finally turning the last bend, Naru walked quickly to the spot on the wall where the demon wrote the accursed writing. The dark blood on the light wall was easy to see. Mai looked up at the wall. She paled. How horrible.

"What does it say?" Naru asked.

Mai paled further if it was even possible. 'Ummmm well….." she took in a deep breath and Naru noticed the slight shake of her hands as she twisted them in front of her self.

"It says." Mai whispered "'The world won't know if I get rid of one more.'"

Naru studied the wall again. He pointed to the words underneath the first. "What does that say?"

Naru looked back at Mai and saw that she looked scared.

"It says 'She is next'" Mai whispered softly. Naru had to strain his ears to hear her. As he did though he could only wish that he could read Japanese so Mai wouldn't have to read it out loud.

Mai took a deep breath to calm herself. She walked over to the other side of the hallway and slid down the wall. Putting her head in her hands, she tried to shudder a sob.

_'How horrible.' _She thought_ 'Masako has been kidnapped by another ghost and I can't do any thing about it. I know that it's not my fault but I can't help but feel like it is.'_

Naru watched as Mai stifled her sob. His heart twisted in pain at hearing the sound. He walked over to the crying girl and put a hand on her shoulder.

Mai continued to sob as she heard Naru walk closer to her. Upon feeling something touch her shoulder, she looked up to see a sad look on the man staring down at her. He removed his hand and leaned against the wall, still looking at her.

"Don't worry Mai" he said quietly "We'll find her. I promise."

Mai smiled she appreciated his help. This was one of the only times she would ever see him act like this. She gave his a weak smile and dried her tears. Standing up she walked over to the exact spot the Masako had been taken. Naru gave her a confused and curious look as she sat down and closed her eyes. After she could no longer see him he wiped all emotion of his face. It was hard for him to show emotion like that for long periods of time. Since it was Mai though, he tried his best. He could tell she appreciated it by the weak smile she had given him.

Many loud footsteps sounded down the hall. Naru tensed and braced himself for an attack. When the footsteps rounded the corner, Naru relaxed upon realizing it was just the rest of the team (excluding Masako). Mai had not even opened her eyes to check the incoming intrusion.

Lin, Monk, Yasuahara, and Ayako stood two feet away from Naru breathing hard, All of them had questions in there eyes. Monk looked at Mai with lots of confusion. Naru answered him.

"Don't ask me." He said "I have no idea." Turning to Lin he said "Hara-san has disappeared. Mai is sitting in the exact spot."

Mai spoke up shocking everyone. "I'm trying to see if I can get any vibes. So far the only thing I can think of is the stupid tunnels from my dream." She scowled "It doesn't mean anything though."

"Not necessarily." Lin said. At this Mai opened her eyes and looked at him with curiosity. he continued. "It is possible that Hara-san has been dragged to the tunnels."

"Also." Monk spoke up. "The tunnels could be underneath the house. This is the west wing of the house too. Didn't Yamada-san say that the west wing was colder and such?"

Naru raised his hand to his chin for a moment then lowered it. "That is possible; however, we must find Hara-san soon, before anything of ill cause come to her." Everyone nodded in agreement. Without a word everyone headed to the base.

* * *

**(An: And that is where I'm going to end it! Tell me what you think. Also if any of you have any requests I might be able to squeeze a few in there as part of my awesomeness!**

**Questions? Concerns? PM me or leave it in a review! :D. **

**Also, I had to wait a while for at least 5 reviews to come up. I usually update around that time. So Review! Plus, they make me happy.**

**One more thing be fore I go, I have a favor to ask. My best Friend, DiamondInMyHeart, has a story called Hung. It is currently on hold because nobody was reading it and she thought that it was bad. Would you guys please look it up and read it? Please review too. This is a big favor from me to you!**

**Thank you for reading!)**

**-WhisperToTheWolves**


	9. Chapter 8 Part 1

Chapter Eight

The Trouble with Astral Projection

Everything was quiet in the base. Everyone was in deep thought, trying to figure out how to rescue Masako.

"Lin." Naru said "Can you find Hara-san with your Shiki?"

Lin shook his head. "Something is blocking me and I can't find her any where in the house hold. I have already tried." Naru cursed.

"Hey Naru," Mai spoke up. The team turned toward her. "I can try to find her like I did at the UradoMansion. It might work and-"

"No." Naru interrupted. "You will be in danger if you do that. It is possible for this demon to grab your soul and yank it off to hell. It is not restricted to the house like Urado was."

"But Masako-"

"Will be fine." Naru continued. "You are a valuable member on this team."

Mai blushed and stuttered. She was a valuable member to the team?

Monk laughed. "OOOh Naru! You got silence from Mai-chan!"

"Shut up Monk!" Mai wailed.  
Silence. The atmosphere was to tense to be making jokes right now. Monk glanced at Ayako. She looked heavily depressed and sick. As if sensing his glace Ayako met his eyes. With a flinch, she turned away. Monk frowned. _Was she still mad at me? I only said that so that she would be safer._

Mai watched the two of them exchange glances. Something had happened between them, she was sure of it. The only question now was what was it? The two of them fought all the time. This argument could not have been out of the normal. Right?

Naru sighed. He watched Mai with worried eyes as she watched monk. He got a bad feeling. Where ever those two were involved that meant Mai was planning something. He sighed again. More work for him. He looked at the clock. It was early enough to start work.

"Monk, Matsuzaki-san, and Yasuhara go ask Yamada-san if there are any basements or attics. The demon might be hiding there. John and Lin search the house to see if there is anything out of the ordinary. Also, check and see if you can sense Masako. Go."

Lin raised an eyebrow. What had gotten into his charge? He never sent him to do stuff like this. "What will you and Taniyama-san be doing?"

"Mai and I will stay in the base."

At the mention of her name, Mai shot her head up and blushed. She would be alone with Naru in the base…..WITHOUT LIN!

Out of the corner of his eye where Mai couldn't see him Yasu smirked. He was so going to point this out to Mai later when the situation wasn't so serious.

Mai yawned_. 'That's strange.'_ She thought. '_I've gotten a lot of sleep. Why do I feel so tired?'_ Her eyes widened catching the eyes of several of the SPR members.

'You got to be kidding m-' Mais eyes closed in involuntary drowsiness. She remembers hitting the floor and the voices of her family calling out to her as her body went slack.

_Mai winced as woke up on the astral plane. She must have hit something going down. Looking around, everything was the way it was supposed to be. The white soul lights slowly climbed the unending sky. The sea of black all around her hiding whatever may lurk in the dark. Mai closed her eyes and lifted herself into a sitting position. She made a mistake. Everything was not the way it was supposed to be. He wasn't here. She shook her head. 'Of course he's not here.' She thought to herself. 'I probably exorcised him or something in that stupid dream I had.'_

_She rested her head on her knees, she was vaguely aware of the fact that tears dripped down her cold cheeks. Hurriedly, she wiped them away. Curling into a small ball se tried to make herself as small as possible. She hurt someone. It didn't matter if he was a ghost, he was gone and it was all her fault._

_A sharp tap on her shoulders made her jump from her crying form. She looked up and into the eyes of a very annoyed Eugene Davis._

_"Eugene!' she cried. She hurled herself at him and hugged him around the waist. "I-I thought you w-w-were gone-e."_

_Gene's look of annoyance changed to one of confusion and cluelessness. "What are you talking about? That wasn't your fault. How the hell did you even know about that? I haven't seen you since you had those dreams back at your house."_

_Mai stiffened. What was he talking about? She was there the whole time she watched as he screamed and fell over._

_"Anyways." Mai released Gene and took a few steps back. "Why am I here?"_

_Gene furrowed his eyebrows. Mai was acting really weird. He hadn't seen her since her dreams. The only thing he remembers from the pain was a ball of light standing feet from him blinking. Mai was never there. On the other hand he didn't remember much from the experience. Only vague memories. He shook the thoughts out of his head._

_"I have to show you something. It's about-"_

_"No." Mai interrupted. Gene blinked. He didn't even tell her yet._

_"It's going to be astral projecting right? Naru told me I can't do that."_

_Gene shook his head. "No I just wanted you to meet someone. She's going to give you valuable information."_

_Gene waved his hand and Mai watched as one of the small lights floating upward suddenly descended on the two of them. The light pulsed with light and morphed. It took on the shape of older woman and became solid._

_She had medium length hair with light eyes. Her old, kind face was filled with pain. Mai looked at the woman's clothes and gasped. A thick red liquid covered them, dripping down the light colored garments._

_The woman's pained face changed to one of sadness as she regarded Mai with pity. She looked at Gene. "This is the woman. The woman who is one of the people endangered from him?"_

_Gene nodded and he whipped all emotion off of his face. The woman slowly walked over to Mai. She lifted a hand to touch Mai's face and winced. She held her ground. Slowly going further she laid a hand on Mai's shoulder. Taking a deep breath, the older woman became more visible and stopped glowing as much. Mai suddenly felt drained and she wobbled slightly but managed to stay up. Gene moved in behind her to make sure that if she did fall that he would be there to catch her. _

_"Sorry." He whispered "She needed a little more energy. She can't take it from me so she had to take it from you. I wouldn't allow it if it wasn't necessary."_

_A few minutes passed as the woman got use to her new state. She took her hand off of Mai's shoulders and slowly bended her fingers. "I can move again."_

_Gene's gaze hardened as he spoke. "Yes and you will give the energy back to her when you are done talking."_

_The woman nodded and dropped her hand down to her side. "Then I must do this quickly." She walked over to Mai and placed her hand on her shoulder once again. "Please bear with me. I know this will be tough for you to see, but it will help you in your mission."_

_Before Mai could even ask why, she was hurled into a memory once again._

It was dark in the tunnels. That was all Masako could think of, for sight that is. The horrible place smelled of must and blood. A scent that she would know well from many of her cases from her career. She dared not move for fear of coming across the owners of the horrid smell. In the time that she was alone, Masako wished for many things. She wished that she had not gone alone. She wished she weren't jealous of Mai. She wished that she could tell her parents that she loved them one last time before something happened. She wished that Oliver would save her. Hell, she wished that anyone would save her. From the summaries of Mai's dreams she knew that this place was the one that was spoken of.

But out of all of these things she wished she had friends. The closest person she could consider a 'friend' was her rival. Unless one of them gave up on the person of their choosing, they would never be close. She wished that one day they could get over there differences and finally be friends.

For now, she could only hope that she would make it out of these tunnels to make her dream a reality.

Naru watched over Mai like a hawk. He wouldn't let anyone near her unless it was to put more water on the damp rag strung across her forehead. Monk couldn't wait till she woke.

He had been up with a sick Ayako last night for reasons only he and she knew. They had been forced to go after Mai shortly after Ayako stopped 'giving away' her lunch. He hadn't gotten any sleep. Though he supposed it was worse for Ayako for what she was having to go through right now. Currently the said miko was sleeping, leaning against the wall.

Monk started watching Naru as he watched Mai. He really was like a hawk with the piercing gaze that he had. Monk couldn't be mad at him for glaring at anybody for coming close to Mai. She had slept a lot so she shouldn't have just fallen unconscious for no reason. With Naru sitting on edge though, Monk figured that 'Big Boss' as Yasu termed it, was worried Mai was astral projecting. He had a right to be worried. If Mai was astral projecting and the demon found her…. Well things could get ugly.

Naru had had enough of Takigawa's staring. He snapped his gaze so fast, Monk jumped in surprise.

"Takigawa." He turned his head to the priestess lying against the wall two feet from where he stood. "Take Matsuzaki-san back to her room. She doesn't look well. Stay with her. After she has woken meet us in the base." Naru paused and looked at Monk's clothing. "After you all change that is."

Monk sighed and mock saluted Naru. Heading over to the priestess, carful as to not disturb her, carried her princess style out of the room, leaving the two teens and the onmyouj_i_ alone at base.

_She couldn't keep running. She knew that, but she had to fight. Even if it was the last thing she ever did. She knew she would never be able to beat this monster with brute strength. She was far too old to ever do that. However, wisdom comes with age. She figured she would be able to outwit the demon and get out of the blasted tunnels before it was too late. _

_She ran as fast as her aged legs could take her. There was no sign of the demon. _

_'There must be some way out.' She thought. Her breath was the only thing she could hear as she rushed down the bloodied walls._

_She came to a fork in the road one side having more width than the other. Her instinct told her to follow the smaller path. This path would lead her to the exit._

_She slowed to a walk and breathed heavily. For a moment she worried she would have a heart attack of something of the sort. She shrugged it off. There was not time for thoughts like that. She had to make it out of the tunnels first. She traveled for what seemed like hours till she came across a small staircase. Her instinct told her to go up that staircase._

_ She climbed up the staircase and turned the doorknob. She relaxed when she saw the hallways of her home and took a step inside. She had only made it one step inside her house, when a sharp hiss momentarily stopped her. She froze. She only had enough time to realize what it was when it grabbed her from behind and pulled her into the now wet with new blood tunnels once again. A scream echoed throughout the house. A sign that she would not be getting out of the house. She would stay in those tunnels for all eternity._

_Mai opened her eyes with a sharp gasp only to see her spirit guide leaning over her with a worried expression. He moved out of her way as she sat up and looked around. She was still on the astral plane and the ghost whose name she had not learned watched from afar. She kept going in and out of view, almost like Mai was seeing her though a foggy film that had been damaged in some parts._

_Taking in a shaky breath she said "What was that?"_

_Gene didn't answer her question but lifted a hand to help her up. It was then when she noticed she was shaking. After dusting off imaginary dust from her clothes, she faced the old woman whose ghost had now started to walk closer._

_She sent a sad smile to Mai and her face wrinkled with age. Mia suddenly realized how old she looked. The woman's ice blue eyes were faded and covered in a film._

_"That is the way I died. My name is Mizuki Yamada and that beast is my son." _

_She clenched her fists and her body shook. Mai stared at her in shock. The monster that we have been fighting this whole time… is her son?!_

_Finally Mai spoke. "How?" was all she said. This clearly seemed to startle to woman and she stared at Mai with wide eyes. She looked away and spoke._

_"A few years ago, there was a fire at a old house. This was back when I was still alive. The fire burned everything. We had a dog, a puppy. His name was Ryu. We all lived in this house, Sakura-chan, Hotaru-chan, my son, and I. I believe Sakura left the stove on and it got caught on the rag that is always next to the stove. We all got out of the house safely. We realized the dog was missing and my so went back into to grab him. We waited for a long time until we heard his scream reign throughout the entire house. We heard barking from behind us and we all saw that the dog was injured but not inside the house. Sakura tried to run back in and tell him but the firemen held her back. That night my son died in that house." She finished._

_Mai didn't realize she was crying until the taste of salt roamed her mouth. She covered her face with her hands and sobbed. She sunk to the ground as if she were broken and cried. Gene and Mizuki looked away. It was better for her to just cry it out. After she was done she laid unmoving on the invisible ground. Gene took a deep breath and leaned down._

_"Mai. You need to go back to Noll and the others. They are waiting for you." Mai nodded numbly and Gene watched as she disappeared in a white glowing haze. His eyes widened. Not possible, she didn't have enough energy to do that._

_'When was she able to get back with out his help?'_

Lin ran his hand through his hair. Mai had been asleep for a while. Naru was watching her very carefully, waiting for any sign that she would wake. Lin sighed. 'Maybe sometime soon the stupid boy would realize his feelings for his assistant.'

Naru began to get a head ache. Someone must be thinking about him. He smirked to himself. 'Who wouldn't want to think about him?'

Mai groaned and Naru reminded himself that this was not the time for jokes. Mai's eyes opened and she flinched at the blue ones staring back into hers. Naru sat back and watched Mai with… worried eyes?

"Hey Naru." She croaked "How long have I been asleep?"

Naru ignored her question. He gave Lin a side look and the computer man turned from his one true love. (Once again, the laptop.) Lin gave the two a very un-Lin-like smirk, and stood up from his chair.

"I'm going to check on Takigawa and Matsuzaki-san." He announced.

Grabbing his over coat, he left the room with evil thoughts in his head.

'Madoka would be so proud at me.' He chuckled internally. He shut the door to the base and smiled with complete innocence. 'Now lets just see if the idiot will do anything.'

Naru watched Lin leave out of the base door. Lately the male assistant and his girlfriend had talked over the phone a lot. He could hear him talking to someone female over the phone but he could understand what was being said. Just thinking back on it made him frustrated. He was sure it was about him.

Sighing out loud, he turned to the female now sitting on the end of the bed.

She rubbed her head and flinched at the sore spot on the back of her head. That was going to leave a huge bump by tomorrow.

For some reason she still felt tired, like she was going to go into an astral projection. She could always tell when she was going to do an astral projection or when she was going to visit Gene. Before she astral projected she would always feel his presence even if he was not with her in the vision later. When she was dreaming with a memory or something else of some sort she would always feel cold. Recently, however, that had not happened. When she enters the spirit world nothing happens anymore and it takes Gene a lot of time to show up now too.

Gene presence once again made itself known and she hit the pillow with a hard thump.

Naru was brought out of his thought when a loud bang was heard. He turned his head back to the newly unconscious girl. He turned around and started banging his head against the wall. Fate was playing with him. He hadn't even gotten a reason on why she had fainted before she was out again. He stopped banging his head and rubbed his extremely red forehead. In the back of his mind he thought of a vague excuse to give to Lin.

Mai had had way too many dreams on this case. His head creased at the thought of her over using her powers. Bad things could come to those who used psychic powers to much. Many things could happen to her. Her heart could stop, her breathing could stop, and the worst one out of all of that….. her spirit could be trapped in the house for the demon to get. It would be extremely painful and in some cases spirits had to relive it over and over again.

Naru shook his head and stood up. That wouldn't happen to Mai. She was too strong of a girl to let that happen.

Bringing a folding chair over to the bed, he fell asleep waiting for his close companion to wake from her slumber.

Little did he know what was happening to her at that exact moment.

**This is part one of this chapter! I think I caught all of the mistakes. If I didn't let me know. I want to personally thank the following people for helping me with my authors note. If you didn't read it, go back one chapter.**

**AssailentAngel, willoffire2014, and BlueberryEmo.**

**This chapter is dedicated to them!**

**Review please! I noticed that the number of my reviews are going down….. that makes me sad. T.T**

**I hope you like this chapter part! There is another part for this chapter. I don't know when I will post that one…..Please review and let me know what you think!**

**-WhisperToTheWolves**


	10. Chapter 8 Part 2

Chapter Eight Part Two

The Trouble with Astral Projection

**(Disclaimer: I don't own Ghost Hunt….boo hoo…..)**

* * *

_She knew she was not supposed to be here. Why had Gene brought her back? Mai opened her eyes and stared at the one place she was not supposed to be. The astral plane. What had Naru said again? The demon could take her soul. Oh yes what a lovely scenario. _

_Mai groaned. How was she supposed to go back? She had to find a way. Mai stood up and looked around. Just as she suspected. Dark and Gene was no where to be seen._

_She started walking. There had to be an exit somewhere around here._

_Flash! Mai winced. She opened her eyes and looked in confusion. Two feet in front of her floated a bright white orb. Was this the way out?_

_Without another thought she grabbed the white orb and held onto it tightly. Mai's stomach pulled and she gasped. She felt like she was going to be sick. Once again she felt the presence of Gene before it disappeared again. Opening her eyes, she was where she least expected._

_She was in the tunnels._

_Glancing around, she saw that the demon was not there but something else was._

_"Masako!"_

_At the sound of her name, the medium lifted her head from her knees._

_"Mai! Are you really here?"_

_Mai paused. "Not really. I'm astral projecting."_

_Mai watched as Masako's face fell and she laid her head on her knees once again. She tucked herself closer into a ball and started shaking. Mai instantly felt sorry for the girl. Masako had been kidnapped on so many cases by the ghost; Mai knew how terrifying it could be. Unfortunately, Masako was in the ghost hunting business and that was just something you had to expect._

_ "Then how am I supposed to know if you are real or not? You could just be a figment of my imagination."_

_Mai paused. That was true she supposed, she didn't even know if the person she was talking to really was Masako. She grinned as a thought came to her._

_"Fine then." She walked over to Masako and laid a hand on her shoulder as her other one dug around in her pocket. She pulled out her old house key._

_"Use my lucky charm again. Hold onto it. It's solid and it will help you keep everything in mind. We are coming to find you Masako." Mai handed her house key to the medium and she looked a round at the familiar tunnels. "In fact the exit is down there if you keep walking." Masako's head bounced up as she studied Mai intently. Mai smiled wider as she noticed the familiar gleam of hope enter the other girl's eyes. Mai took her hand off Masako's shoulder and pointed the way down the tunnel. _

_"Follow that path and eventually you will get to an old stair case. Climb up the stair case and open the door. You will enter the hallway."_

**_THE WORLD WON'T KNOW IF I GET RID OF ONE MORE!_**

_Mai froze. That sounded like the demon… Mai was brought back to reality when she heard Masako's scream and the smell of death filled her nose. _

_Turning around, she was face to face with the thing that filled her dreams. It breathed its rancid breath into her face and she swallowed a scream. It leaned in closer and almost whispered his words into her ear._

**_DOES THE WORLD KNOW I GET RID OF MANY?_**

_Mai couldn't hold back anymore and she screamed with all the ability she could as a girl. Masako whimpered and slowly cried into the crease if her kimono. The demon paid no attention to her…The demon wasn't paying attention to Masako!_

_Mai jumped away from the demon and ran down the hall. As she expected the demon followed suit. Mai had to tell Masako!_

_"Masako!" she yelled. "He is after me not you! I need you to get to the exit! Wake me up and get me out of here!" _

_Mai barely dodged the demon as it lunged for her. She fell to the ground as Masako stood. Masako watched with worried eyes filled with terror, before she gulped and took of in the direction of the staircase. The demon hissed at Masako, but turned his attention back to Mai. It was not everyday that it got to eat a spirit of a psychic. It turned back to Mai ready to tackle her again and it let the medium get away._

_The demon paused and watched Mai with its blood filled eyes. Its forked tongue slithered in between its already blood stained teeth. Now she had to get away, and hoped that someone would wake her up._

Masako ran down the halls ignoring the horrid smell and bones that scattered the ground. Mai gave her the chance to escape and she was not going to let her down. She was going to save Mai just like Mai had saved her twice. The key in her hand reminded her of the promise she had made to herself a long time ago. 'Repay the debts that are owed.'

The tunnels were dark and when she bean to tire, she soon began to dread that Mai had been wrong. Maybe this wasn't the way out of the tunnels.

Masako stopped and leaned over. She breathed heavily at the thought of what was happening to Mai. No! She would let that happen!

Masako stood up straight and kept running ignoring how her legs swelled in pain with protest. An inhuman scream echoed throughout the tunnels. She came to a stop and looked around. Nothing. She felt uneasy. That could be here instincts. Her eyes told her there was nothing there, while her soul told her there was. She wasn't going to take her chances. She looked up and stood in horror. There was a fork in the rode, a path that led to the left and one to the right. The one to the right was slightly smaller and she felt that it was safer than the other path that lay in its wake. Her soul was telling her this. She ran down the right and she smiled in happiness when she came to the end of the tunnel. At the end stone steps led up to an old wooden stair case. Quickly, Masako climbed the stairs and opened the door.

It was just as Mai said. The door opened to a small hallway in the house. Her smile grew and she ran down the hall. She ran down the hallway and slammed the door to the base open. John, Lin, and Naru were inside. Monk and Ayako were nowhere to be seen. They jumped at the loud bang of the door. Masako breathed heavily and leaned against the door frame. The males stood by the couch where a whimpering and breathing heavily Mai lay.

John was the first one to move. He swiftly walked over to Masako and led her to the same fold out chair that Naru accompanied earlier.

"Wake her up!" Masako wheezed "Wake Mai up!"

They all stared at her in shock at her appearance before Naru looked back down on Mai before placing a hand on her shoulder. He shook her gently, but at the same time it was filled with urgency.

Naru frowned. Masako had come into base. She was covered in a blood sunken kimono and wheezed at them to wake Mai up. Masako was not one to do things without reason, so Naru shook the teenage girl's shoulder. After a few seconds of shaking, the girl was unresponsive and still breathing hard. Even after shaking a little bit harder, she did not wake. She laid there as pale as a sheet of paper. He turned to the omnyoji.

"Lin, wake Mai up." Lin looked confused and tried to do as Naru told him. He shook Mai hard on the shoulder and even he frowned.

From her place on the chair, Masako cried. "You need to wake her up. She's astral projecting right now! She is being chased by the demon!"

Naru and Lin's eyes hardened and Lin whistled into the air. When called the shiki whirled around him.

_'I can't make my shiki go through Mai. It might harm her. But if I….'_

Lin whistled again, this time a higher note. The shiki floated very close to Mai, almost brushing her skin. The girl's eyes flew open and she sat up. The shiki drifted back toward their master, waiting for the next order. Everyone relaxed as the girl looked around at the base.

_'Just as I suspected.'_ The omnyoji thought. _'I could create psychic disturbance if I sent my shiki close to the edge of her body. It wouldn't hurt her but would interrupt the dream she was having.'_

Mai looked around the base room. No longer was she being chased. It was gone. Masako had done it. Masako had really done it. She woke Mai up before she was captured. Mai looked up and around the base room for the medium. She saw her sitting in a chair on the other side of the room. Naru moved out of her way so she could get a better view. As soon as he was out of the way. Mai launched off of the couch and into the medium's lap on top of the still bloody kimono. Masako watched in shock as the girl cried until she fell asleep in her lap. Before she was completely unconscious, Masako barely caught Mai's words.

"Thank you Masako." Her eyes closed and her body slumped against the black haired girl.

"No Mai, Thank you."

Monk rubbed the back of the priestess who was currently being sick in the toilet in their room. Her face was pale and her red hair stuck to the side of her face like glue.

"Are you sure you don't want me to drive you back to your house?" Monk asked, worry mixed in his voice.

"No." Ayako coughed "Everyone needs us here. We have no idea when or where the demon will attack next. We need to stay here and help Mai and the others."

"Are you sure?" Monk whispered "Your health is more important than the case."

"Yes!" Ayako hissed back up at him. "I will be fine."

"Alright." Monk gave "I'll be right back. I'm going to see if I can find us something to eat."

Ayako nodded and leaned against the toilet. Monk stood up and headed out of the restroom. He walked over to the bed and picked up his coat from where he left it. He paused by the door waiting to see if Ayako would be sick once again. A coughing sound was all he heard and he winced. He left the room feeling incredibly guilty. This was his entire fault.

He headed down the hallway with his head down. The guilt almost smothered him. Almost at the kitchen he ran into Naru. He almost didn't see him. His black clothing blended into the hallways.

"How is Matsuzaki-san?" He asked in a low voice.

Monk ran a hand through his hair. "She is still not feeling well. If this continues, I don't care what she says; I am taking her to the hospital."

Naru nodded "Send my get wells." He paused "We have Hara-san back unharmed."

Monk breathed in a sigh of relief. "Well that is one thing at least."

Naru nodded and walked past Monk. Monk hadn't even seen the black notebook he was carrying. Monk walked onward toward the kitchen.

Monk thanked the maid that gave him the tray of food, and headed back toward the room he was staying with Ayako.

He hadn't even gotten two steps when a screamed shocked him into movement.

"AYAKO!" Monk screamed. He slid the tray quickly to the table and ran toward the room. When he arrived at the room, what he saw scared him.

Ayako was covered in blood. She leaned weakly against the wall with her hand stretched out in his direction. "Houshou…" she whispered.

"AYAKO!" He yelled. He ran over to her froze body and out of the corner of his eyes he saw the rest of the team standing at the door looking in with wide eyes. A few moments later an out of breath Sakura showed up at the frame of the door. She gasped and her eys widened dramatically.

Lin was the first one to react. He pushed past all of the members and made his way over to the injured priestess. Quickly he push his fingers against the side of the girl's neck. Monk watched as he slowly counted to himself.

"Takigawa!" he snapped "What are you doing?! Call an ambulance!"

Monk numbly made his way over to the phone on the wall and dialed in the short three numbers. After dialing the three numbers, he left the room without being followed. Everyone was busy helping to take care of Ayako.

"Hello. This is the emergency department. What can we do for you?" (An: Go with it. Never had to call the 119 or 911 -_-')

"We need you help! My girlfriend is injured badly and she is bleeding!"

"Sir, can you please tell us how she is injured? We are dispatching men toward you. Do not hang up this call."

"I don't know how she is injured! One of my friends is looking over her right now. What do I do?!"

"Sir, listen to me. Try to stop the bleeding. We are on our way to help you. Do not hang up this phone call. We will be there soon."

Monk nodded furiously even though he knew nobody could see him right now. He placed the phone down on the hallway table and rushed back into the room.

Lin surround Ayako and Sakura was handing him towels to try to stop the bleeding. Everyone else stood to the side out of the way, with wide eyes, even Naru.

A loud siren pierced his ears and Monk rushed out of the room to meet the medical doctors. He opened the door and four people rushed in, one carrying a medical kit.

"This way." He said. He rushed down the hall with the men followed.

By the time they reached the room, Ayako was laying on the ground. Her eyes were barely opened. Mai and Masako cried loudly in the corner of the room. The men laid down a stretcher and gently moved Ayako onto it. When they had her on fully, they quickly left the room with Naru, Lin, and Monk following.

Monk didn't even know he was crying until his cheeks were wet with the tears. He brushed the tears away and took a deep breath. He was going to go to Ayako to the hospital.

The men loaded a now unconscious Ayako into the ambulance. Monk and Lin climbed in with them.

"Tell me the news when you get them." Naru ordered.

Lin nodded and slammed the doors shut. The medical doctors were already getting Ayako hooked to a breathing tube and heart monitor when they sat down. Monk put his head in his hands that were balanced in his knees. He silently cried.

"Takigawa." Lin said "Matsuzaki-san will be alright. She will be okay."

"It's not just her that I am worried about." Takigawa sobbed.

Monk felt Lin's gaze and he continued.

"It not just her I'm worried about…. Its… Ayako is pregnant."

* * *

** (AN: BWAHAHA! I'M SO EVIL! *coughs* Anyways, please look forward to the next chapter! Also… I only got one review for my last chapter….. Please review! They make me happy, and it tells me how my readers are liking the story. You can still review even if you are not logged in! (just make sure to leave a name so that I can thank you in the story.)**

**This case is almost over. :) BE HAPPY! You guys are going to love the next case. I have no doubt in this! It will probably be the best one that I do!**

**I want to say a shout out for Mahou Chibi Kitsune! You have helped me so much! I'm very thankful to you! :D **

**If you have any questions message me or leave it in the review. As long as it is not a spoiler, I don't mind answering….. I don't know how confusing this is….. tried my best… **

**REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REIVIEW REVIEW! **

**That is pretty much all that I have to say…. **

**-WhisperToTheWolves**


	11. Chapter 9

Chapter Nine

A Life of Complications

**(Disclaimer: I don't own Ghost Hunt, but I do own cute little Hotaru! :D)**

* * *

Lin stared shocked at Takigawa. Matsuzaki-san was pregnant? Why had she even come on this case in the first place?

Monk leaned even more into his hands. He knew that even though Ayako didn't want to, he told Lin. He could still remember the day before the case. The day he had gotten into a fight with his girlfriend.

_^*^*FlAsHbAcK*^*^_

_Ayako stood in the front Monk's living room, her hands on her hips. Her expression was full of anger and disbelief._

_"I already told you! I don't want to do that!" She yelled_

_"Why not?!" Yelled Monk from the couch on the other side of the room. "If you go on this case you and the baby could be in danger! I don't want to risk you."_

_Ayako shook with anger before she yelled back. "It won't matter anyway! We can tell them after the case. If we tell them before the case has even started, then Naru would never let us go!"_

_"Exactly!" Monk yelled "He wouldn't let you go because you would be in danger!"_

_Ayako's expression changed and her face became cold. "Do not tell anyone of this. This is my decision as much as it is yours." And with that she left the room._

_Monk sighed. He placed his head in his hands and massaged the side of his head. He didn't understand why she was being so difficult. This was for her and the they went on the case, there was a chance that they would be in danger. Couldn't she see that he was just trying to protect her?_

_They had been together in secret for a few weeks now. Monk had finally confessed to her and Ayako had admitted that she felt the same way. They went to a bar that night and one thing led to another… Monk shook his head. This was no time to be thinking about such things. He had to start packing for the case. At the first sign that Ayako was in danger, he would take her away from there and out of harm._

_^*^*EnD fLaShBaCk*^*^_

Naru was going to be pissed. Mai had just received a call from Lin. He told her he had tried to get a hold of Naru but he hadn't picked up the phone. When Mai had asked Lin what was the matter, he told her of all the drama of that was going on with the couple of idiots in the hospital.

"W-what?" she stuttered "Ayako's preg-prge." She couldn't get out the word. She had no idea that this complication was in the mix. She had been crying in Masako's arms for many hours. Masako just held her and whispered words into her ears. Mai wondered why Masako had just let her do that. Currently, the medium was changing her clothes in the girl's bedroom because her kimono was ripped and bloodied. She was bound to come back in a few minutes.

"Taniyama-san," Lin said "Could you tell Naru? He is trying to get the case wrapped up and is not answering the phone."

"Um. Yeah, Sure I will get right on that." Mai said unsurely.

Lin paused. Through the phone, Mai sounded very unsure. He breathed in a deep sigh and spoke. "Taniyama-san, just talk to Naru. He will listen to you."

Mai rolled her eyes even though she knew that she knew he could not see them. "Whatever you say Lin. I'll get right on it."

The two of them said there good byes and Lin hung up the phone. Naru and Yasuhara were currently trying to find information in the next room. When Mai had started to cry hysterically, Masako had pulled her into the next room. Why? Normally she would just let her embarrass herself in front of Naru. Mai jumped as said girl walked into the room drying her head with a towel. She gave the girl a raised eyebrow. "What?"

Mai shook her head and looked away. She put her hand on her chin and thought of a way to tell Naru about Ayako's condition. Masako came over and sat next to the young psychic sitting cress cross on the floor. Mai gave a confused look as she realized Masako was wearing normal night clothing. Weird. She had this nagging feeling in the back of her mind that she had seen those night clothes before.

She shrugged the feeling of and stood up. Masako stood up with her without saying anything. Mai felt the hair on her arms stand up straight and she looked around the room nervously. Maybe they shouldn't be alone.

Grabbing Masako's hand, she walked over to the door and they both left the room.

"I was getting a bad feeling in there." Mai said

"I was too." Masako said quietly

Mai stopped walking and turned to the quiet girl. "What's wrong Masako?"

The celebrity shook her head and stared silently into space as she thought. She was barely aware of the girl's hand tightening on her own.

Since Ayako had gone to the hospital, Masako had only left Mai's side on a few occasions. It felt nice to stay with the girl that understood her pain so much. They were both in love with the same guy. They had many problems that they shared. They were the two youngest on the team. Mai also had no idea how to handle the spirits of the next world. Masako had been in this business for a long time. Mai had done so much to help her, even if she didn't know the extreme dangers she went through, she still helped. In Masako's mind Mai would be her best friend. She would help her understand the dangers.

Mai was also in the process of becoming a medium. If she did, Masako could explain what would happen and certain things to except. She could help her through the changes that were happening to her spiritual powers. Masako's brother was the same. Even if he was no longer of this world, Masako would respect him until the day that she died.

Once again the hand that held hers tightened. Mai could see Masako's eyes tearing up, but she thought it was for different reasons.

"Its ok Masako," She whispered "Ayako is going to be just fine."

The medium looked back at the tightly smiled girl. "No, that is not what I am worried about. I was think about my past."

Mai frowned. Her past?

"I had a brother." Masako continued on. "He was just like you, always optimistic. He was just like you on your powers as well. His strongest ability was astral projecting. He did the same thing you did earlier today. He was running from a demon on a case that I was investigating. He drew the demons attention away from me, but… he didn't make it away from the demon. My younger brother….." The medium looked back at the girl. "After he died, he still felt the need to protect me. He followed me around as a spirit until just a few months ago, I got him to pass on. For some reason I feel the need to protect you because of that. You are just like him, always reckless. I didn't have the time to protect him. He was so young when he died. Ten years old. I don't think I could stand it if you passed on and started saying around me." She whispered

Mai dropped Masako's hand and moved in front of the celebrity, putting both hands o her shoulders. She looked deep into the eyes of the teenage girl.

"Masako I am not going any where." Then she laughed "Plus if I was going to haunt anyone, it would be Naru." Her eyes glazed over in thought. "Well actually, I wouldn't haunt anyone or anything. I would join my parents as soon as I could. I miss them a lot." Her voice trailed down as she got deeper into her memories. The times mom had picnics with her at the park, when her dad took her to the carnival before he divorced her mom. Mai remembered the day the casket had arrived at her door, her father inside wearing his army clothes. At the time Mai did not understand why her dad was in a box and a cloth draped over his face. All she remembers beside that was her momma crying. Later that week, after having the funeral, they moved to Osaka. Mai was brought back to reality when Masako whipped the tears that had unknowingly escaped out of her eyes.

"It's okay Mai. You can cry in front of me."

At that point, all hell broke loose. Mai hurled herself into Masako's arms and cried until her eyes were red and puffy. Masako moved herself so that Mai was crying in her lap and they bother were leaning against the wall of the hallway. Masako just smoothed the girl's hair back from her face and whispered words into her ear. Masako remembered herself doing the same thing to her parents when the doctors gave her the news about he brother.

After a few minutes of sitting on the floor, Mai and Masako stood simultaneously. They both leaned against the wall, neither looking at the other. Mai whipped the tear stains away.

When Mai's eyes cleared of all the evidence, she grabbed Masako's hand once again and head back into the base room.

"Come," Mai said "I have to tell Naru something very important."

Mai opened the door and stepped into the room. Yasu was pointing out something to Naru on one of the screens. Naru looked up from the laptop Lin usually possessed. When the two men heard the girls entering they turned their heads to the couple that were hand in hand. Naru raised an eyebrow. Since when were they so friendly with each other?

"Naru." Mai announced "I have something important to tell you~!"

Naru raised the other eyebrow to meet the other one. Why was she shifting her body restlessly? Why did she look so nervous?

"Umm. Well you see….. Lin called me because you weren't answering you phone. He was talking to Monk and he said that Monk told him Ayako was pregnant."

Naru's eyes narrowed and he hissed. "What?"

Mai gulped. " Umm yea. That's what he told me."

If at any possible his eyes got narrower. "Why did Lin call you and not me?"

Mai gulped. This was not a good situation to be in. "He said he tried and you didn't answer your phone."

Naru reached into his pants and pulled out his cell phone. He clicked a button and the screen lit up. 8 missed calls from Lin. Why hadn't the phone rung? Checking the sound he was confused to see it on silent. Mai walked over and looked over his shoulder at his phone. Naru was very aware of the fact that her hair was touching the back of his neck. She leaned away and hummed.

"Maybe Lin turned it off when you fell asleep or something."

Naru furrowed his eyebrows. That was possible, but it wasn't something Lin would do. He turned his phone back to vibrate where it should have been. He went to his contact list and looked up Lin's number. He hit the send button and held the phone up to his ear. Yasuhara and the girls watched as he left the room and went to talk to Lin outside of the base.

The sound of the phone ringing stopped giving his the cue to start talking.

"Lin is it true Matsuaki-san is pregnant?"

At this moment John walked down the hall hearing the last three words. Naru watched as John's face turned bright red. He turned around and walked back down the hall muttering on how Takigawa had sinned. Naru smirked then regained his composer when he missed Lin's question.

"What was that Lin?"

On the other side of the phone, Lin frowned. Naru wasn't listening was he? His suspicions were confirmed when he heard Naru's response.

"I said 'Noll is everyone over there alright. I know Taniyama-san was very stricken when Matsuzaki-san was taken to the hospital.…' Are you getting sick? You are not acting like yourself."

Naru pinched the bridge of his nose and took in a deep breath. "Mai is fine. I believe Hara-san calmed her down."

"Hara-san….. Calmed her down?"

"Yes." Naru said firmly

An awkward silence followed before Naru heard the bashings of Mai and the screaming of Yasuhara. He sighed. Typical.

"I have to go Lin. Let me know how Matsuzaki-san is doing later."

There was a Reply from Lin before Naru hit the end button and opened the door back into base. Inside, a very red Mai was beating Yasuhara that was lying on the floor clutching his head. Behind Mai Masako watched with dancing eyes and giggled into her kimono.

"Don't say stuff like that Yasu! It's creepy!"

"Monk!" Yasuhara called "Save me from the best that is killing me! My prince!"

Mai turned redder at this point and John walked into the room. She turned toward him.

"John!" She hissed "Restrain him and put duck tape on his mouth! I can't take this anymore!" She stopped her beating on Yasu when she saw John walking over to them slowly. He pulled out his holy water and started praying. The water hit Mi square in the face and Naru had to stop himself from smiling. At this point Masako fell over and started laughing into the floor.

"John!" She screeched "I am not possessed. I told you to restrain Yasu!"

John continued his chanting and Mai face palmed. Naru heard her mutter something about getting John back later before she stormed out of the room with a barely composed Masako following. Naru almost smirked. The scene was priceless.

When Mai had left the room, Yasuhara sat up his hand holding his head lightly.

"Ugg." He groaned "I swear Mai can probably beat Ayako in a beating match. I'm just going to hope that when they have the contest Monk is the victim."

Naru did nothing but followed the girls out of the base. They hadn't gotten far when Naru over heard then speak.

"Yea right Masako! That won't happen in a million years!"

"You never know Mai, he might just confess one day…"

Mai scoffed. "When pigs fly!"

Naru wondered who they were talking about. Unfortunately, that would have to wait until later.

"Mai, Hara-san, you two will be sharing a bed tonight."

Mai and Masako spun around at hearing their names called. Mai squeaked.

"Oh u-um h-hi Naru. W-when did you get there?"

Naru just looked at her straight not answering her question. "It will be safer this way. You two are not to leave each others side.

"Umm okay Naru, but who will you be with?"

Naru was saved from answering that question when his phone rang. Naru pulled it out of his pocket and looked at the caller id. Lin. He hit the send button and held the phone to his ear.

"Lin, how is Matsuzaki-san?"

"Naruu~!" Monk sang from the other side. "Lin left so I took his phone~!"

Naru sighed "Monk give Lin back his phone. He won't appreciate it."

"Awww but Naru-chan! I wanted to tell you how Ayako is!"

Naru sighed again. He looked at the girls in front of his that were watching him curiously. He clicked the loud spear button and closed his eyes. "Go on."

Monk cheered "Alright! So lets see…. Ayako was close to having a miscarriage and won't be able to be on the case anymore. Sorry also. She is apparently got some sort of Flu making her sickness worse…..hmm yea I think that is about it. The doctor said after some rest she will be fine."

The girls sighed in relief and Monk heard them. "Mai-chan is that you?! Hi!" Naru opened his eyes and cut Mai off from saying. "Takigawa, you and Matsuzaki-san go back. You two are off the case. Takigawa stay with Matsuzaki-san. I assume the child is yours."

When Monk didn't respond, the girls giggled into the sleeved of their clothing.

"Alright big boss…." Monk said in a dejected tone. Then it turned chipper. "Call us if you need anything. I have to go because I don't want Lin to catch me on his phone."

In the background someone yelled Takigawa. Naru could assume it was Lin. Monk gulped and the line went dead.

Mai and Masako laughed. Monk was so going to get in so much trouble.

The girls waved good bye to Naru and entered their room.

Naru headed back toward the base. He entered to the room to find Lin already back in the seat by the monitors. That was really quick. As if Lin sensed his question, he spoke. "We were already almost here. Takiawa lives about five minutes away." Lin looked annoyed as he put on the headphones to the monitors. John was talking quietly with a sleepy looking Yasu.

"Lin can you watch monitors tonight?" A nod was all he got in response.

He turned to Yasu and John. "You two are paired. Never leave the others side. Even to go to the bathroom." John nodded and Yasu gave a sleepy okay. "You are dismissed."

They both stood up. John stretched and they both walked out of the room.

"I'm going to bed." Naru said to Lin.

"Good night Noll." He turned away from the monitors and looked him in the eye. " Do you think Taniyama-san will have another dream. I think she has had too many on this case.

Naru nodded. He began to leave the base once again. On his way put he said. "She is Mai. Let's just hope that no one else will come to harm on this case."

Mai stared at the girl across from her. It felt awkward sleeping in the same bed with someone who had been you enemy days before. Mai liked the fact they were mostly friends, it just felt weird being in the base bed with someone else.

"Hey Masako?" Mai asked after a minute Masako said something.

"I'm giving up on Naru." She blurted

The statement shocked Mai so much she sat up in the king sized bed they were laying in.

"What? Masako are you sick or something?"

Mai felt Masako shift restlessly. "There is no point. He is in love with someone else."

Mai felt her heart drop. Naru was in love with someone?

Masako watched as Mai's face dropped. She had no idea. If she paid attention she might figure t out she supposed. For now, Masako would let the chips fall where they may. She was asleep in less than thirty seconds.

The whole night Mai wondered who the lucky girl was.

* * *

**(An: Hey everyone! I want to thank everyone that has reviewed my story! Even though she is proababl not reading my story, I want to thank Malindorie! XD She knows why!**

**I 'm going to be busy the next couple days but I will try to update as soon as I can! You guys are awesome! Thanks for the reviews! keep them coming! :)**

**By the way if you review, you can decide on what gender Ayako's baby should be. Unless I already asked you! -_- You know who you are. lol**

**REVIEW!**

**-WhisperToTheWolves**


	12. Chapter 10 Part 1

Chapter Ten

A Promise Kept From a Narcissus

Part One

**(Disclaimer: Do you really think I own Ghost Hunt? You wish, but so do I. T.T)**

Mai groaned and stretched out of her covers. _Day three huh?_ Turning over she saw that Masako was still sound asleep. Mai smiled. Masako was so angelic when she was sleeping. Looking at the alarm clock she brought with her, Mai saw that it was almost nine thirty. Mai's eyes widen. Why hadn't anybody woken them up? Naru was going to kill her.

Quickly, Mai turned to the sleeping medium and began shaking her. "Masako, Masako, wake up!"

A groan was all she received from the groggy celebrity. Mai began to shake her slightly harder. Masako groaned again and opened her eyes to slits. She winced as the bright light streaming through the window stung them. Masako turned to the very awake Mai and pulled the covers over her head.

"Naru said not to wake you." She mumbled. "He came here earlier and send that you had been over using your powers and that if you were sleeping well to just let you sleep. Now if you don't mind, I am going back to sleep." She tucked the covers closer around herself leaving the very shocked Mai to her thoughts.

_'Naru said that?' _ A fierce blush invaded her cheeks and she felt her head become light.

"But Masako!" she whispered fiercely "It's nine thirty!"

Masako poked her head out from under the pillows and looked at the clock to see if it was true. She gave a sigh.

"Fine. You get to deal if anyone asks any questions."

Mai nodded and went to the bathroom to get ready.

Fifteen minutes later the two teens made there way out of the bedroom and into the kitchen. Mai had said she wanted to make Naru tea as a thank you, even though he would deny everything Masako had told her. Masako almost snorted and Mai looked at her curiously. The two of them were so oblivious to each other.

The kitchen was quiet as Mai set the tea pot on top of the fancy stove. Masako could almost hear the flames as the heated the metal sitting above. An awkward silence followed.

Just when Masako thought the silence was going to be the death of them. A low whistle was heard in the background. Without a word, Mai lifted the teapot and poured it into the teacup Masako hadn't noticed was there. Mai probably pulled out the cupboard when she wasn't paying attention. Mai placed the tea inside and walked toward the base with the steaming liquid.

The two girls were quiet as they walked toward the base. Masako wondered what the other girl was thinking about before realizing she had said the question out loud. Mai looked at her in a surprise. Masako stuttered.

"U-um…. Y-you don't have to answer that question."

Mai laughed. "You seem so embarrassed! What for? It's just a question!"

Masako's blush spread throughout her face and she squeaked. Mai laughed harder this time and almost spilled the tea.

"Whoops!" she said. Her hand balanced the tea cup evenly before she started to walk steadily. Mai began to walk faster. The tea would get cold if they took too long. Masako followed her at a quicker pace, not wanting to be left behind.

"Don't want it to be spilled~!" Mai sang.

Masako nodded in agreement before the two girls entered the base. Naru, John, Yasu, and Lin all looked up at the sight of the females entering the base. Naru eyes went immediately to the hot tea in Mai's hands. Mai expected this and laughed. She handed him the tea and he took a sip of it almost yearningly.

Mai looked up and stared at the Chinese man in horror.

"Lin!" She almost screeched making everyone but Naru and the subject flinch. "Did you get any sleep last night?!"

Lin blanched as he stood up from his chair and left the room. Naru smirked knowingly and John sighed. Yasu just fell off the couch hitting the floor. His face was turning red from laughing. Mai and Masako looked around the room confused.

"What?" Mai said. "I don't think that I said anything funny!"

When Yasu just laughed harder, Mai shook her head. It was better not to get into this sort of stuff, at least when it came to Yasu. Mai shivered. It was cold. She turned around and headed back to the base door.

"Guys, I'll be right back." She called "I'm going to get my jack-"

A loud bang on the door startled Mai, causing her to scream and jump back behind Naru. Naru was quickly alert and pushed Mai behind him. She clutched his sleeve and looked at the door with fearful eyes. She glanced up at Naru and watched as his eye calculated the door. She watched the door again. What was he…..?

A tall man burst through the door. "I swear every time I enter that door it hates me even more." He wiped sweat from his brow.

"Takigawa." Naru said coolly, looking the spiritualist in the eye. "I wasn't expecting you until ten thirty at the earliest."

Monk smirked. "I came early and apparently at the wrong time." He nodded to where Mai was behind Naru, clutching his back shirt tightly in her hand. After a moment, Mai blushed and released Naru. She backed away slowly and Monk wondered if she would be pink for the rest of her life.

Mai wandered over to the couch and sat down in between Masako and the priest. Masako sighed and gave Mai an understanding smile. Mai smiled back, embarrassed.

Mai was about to talk to monk to ask him why he was here when Lin came back into the base room starting Mai yet again. The dark circles were still under his eyes but he didn't look as tired as he had before. In his hands was a large stack of thin paper looking items and a cup of black coffee from the smell.

Lin handed the paper looking objects to Naru and Mai could see that they had some sort of writing on them. The writing was small but Mai couldn't help but notice that it felt powerful. It was almost making her nervous. She felt the need to get away from it. She gulped. What was with the stupid paper?

"Now that everyone is here," Naru began "I will explain what it is we are going to do."

He stood up from his chair that he had reclaimed when Monk was teasing the group. It also could have been when Mai walked to the couch, she wasn't sure. He passed out a sheet of paper to everyone but Mai. Mai almost felt offended. Why hadn't she gotten one?

When he had finished passing them out to almost everyone, he set the remainders down.

"If we have everyone's cooperation, we will end this case today." He announced. When everyone's eyes met his, he continued. "Earlier this morning I asked Lin to make these charms. If they are on you, the demon, which we have now identified, will not be able to see you. They are made especially to block him. I have an idea and I require your assistance in order for it to work."

"Naru! What about Mai?!" Monk yelled "Why doesn't she have a charm?! She needs a charm more than some of us do! I haven't been attacked and she has." Monk tried to put the charm on Mai's body but she jumped back a few feet. For some reason, the charms didn't suit well with her at all. She got the feeling that if she touched them it wouldn't feel very good. Monk gave her a confused look before Naru snapped at him.

"Takigawa! Do not give a charm to Mai. They aren't made for her. In fact, they are made to not work against her."

"Oh." Monk said. He looked up at Mai, an apology in his smile. "Sorry Mai."

"Taniyama-san." Lin interjected "Do you feel anything coming from the charms?"

Mai was reluctant to answer, but her gut told her it was important so she did. "Yes." She admitted. "It feels wrong to me, almost as if something bad will happen if I touch one."

Slowly Lin frowned. Mai could almost see the disapproving thoughts that whirled through his head. "You shouldn't be able to. If you can, it can mean one of three things." At this point in the tale Naru looked at him curiously.

"One it can mean the seal is really weak. Two it can mean you are getting stronger. Or three, it can mean that since the seal is made to not work against you, you can automatically sense that it is there, thus your extra sense coming into play." He frowned "I believe that it is the fact that your abilities are getting stronger. A few nights ago, we experienced some…. psychic disturbance in your powers. However, any of the options are possible. Just to be safe I am going to make sure the seals are not weak." He held out his hand, and as if they were being ordered, the team members gave Lin back the charms. He left the room without another word.

"As I was saying." Naru said briskly "We need to end this case. I have a plan but everyone needs to be in on it in order for it to work." He leaned back fully in his chair. "Mai will be used as bait to lure out the demon. So far, the demon shows a preference for ladies from the age of sixteen to age twenty. Yamada-san has informed me of another casualty. A maid worked for Yamada-san for a long time was targeted. She was in the category of the age group. Everyone but Mai will wear a charm and we will go back down into the tunnels where Mai and Hara-san were attacked. The demon will go after Mai and we will take of the charms. Everyone will exorcise the demon and he will hopefully disappear." Naru finished. His voice rang finality.

"B-but what about Mai?" Monk whispered. If they were not fast enough then Mai would get hurt.

Naru closed his eyes and tilted is head downward slightly. "If we do what we are supposed to do, then no one will get hurt."

Mai looked at the faces of all of the members. Everyone's face shown signs of disagreement, but no one wanted to push Naru any further than they were willing to go. Except for one person that is.

"What is Mai doesn't agree?" The monk whispered. "Do you want to have her permission?"

"I agree." Mai said immediately. The entire group, even Naru gave her wearied and surprised looks. Mai saw the surprised looks and explained.

"Think about it. If I act as bait than we will end the case and we will get to go home. Plus you have to think on how Yamada-san has to feel. She has lost a lot of maids and I think, judging from her reaction, they were her friends. I'm willing to do it." Mai said cheerfully, and then her face darkened slightly. "If anyone wants to fight me on my decision, be ready for me to put up a fight."

Monk sighed and put up his hands in relief. "Alright, alright. If that is what you really want, I will go along with it. Everyone else?"

Monk looked around the room and slowly got the approved and resigned looks of the rest of the team. Mai smiled. She looked at the old grandfather clock sitting on the other side of the room.

"Naru, when are we going to start this? I mean it is already ten o'clock."

Naru glanced at the wall and observed Mai's calculation, "Wrong, It is nine fifty-five."

Mai pouted. "Whatever! Its close enough. Geez!" Mai puffed.

Naru rolled his eyes. She was so childish sometimes. He sighed, back to the issue. The scenario was not in his best interest. He didn't want this to happen if there was any other way, but Lin and Yasuhara had failed to find anymore information they could use against the demon to get rid of it. He looked up at Mai, who was staring at him curiously as to the cause of the sigh.

"Mai, I need to talk to you for a minute." Naru stood up and walked out of the base door. Mai followed him out with a blushing face as Monk wolf whistled behind her. Yasuhara laughed and followed Monk's example. Mai almost became a ripe tomato.

Naru and Mai walked a few feet away from the base door. Mai suspected this was to keep away suspecting eavesdroppers. Naru stopped and turned around. His bright blue eyes almost seemed….. caring?

"Mai…. listen to me." Naru spoke quietly. Mai looked up and he instantly had her full attention.

"I want you to be very cautious when we go down into the tunnels. If for some reason the charms don't work when we take them off, you will be in major danger. What I did not tell everyone else was that when the charms are on, the user will not be able to do any spiritual damage." He ran a hand through his dark hair and sighed. "If you notice that the charms are not working, I want you to run back into the house with the person closest to you. The demon will only attack if you are alone. You will be safe from its harm." He let his hand relax and he watched the wall.

Throughout all of this, Mai stayed quiet. Why was Naru telling her all of this, and not telling the others?

"Naru." She whispered "Why are you telling me this?"

When Naru stayed silent, she sighed. She figured he wouldn't tell her. The fact that he had told the team about the plan was a miracle.

Naru was staring at the wall in silence. Mai walked up to him and put her hand on the side of his arm. Naru stiffened for a minute before he relaxed. He watched her with a guarded expression.

"Thank you for worrying about me Naru." She whispered. Naru nodded slightly then stared at the wall again. Loud laughter erupted from the base and Mai watched with curiosity. Masako was laughing? What was so funny?

"We should go back into base." Naru stated. Mai nodded and led the way back to base.

Mai opened the door and Naru stepped in after her. Masako was leaning against the couch while Yasuhara glomped Monk.

"You little- Let me go" Monk cried. Masako laughed harder.

"If you are going to be playing around, do it somewhere else. Some of us are trying to get ready." Naru said icily.

A cold chill ran through the room and everyone shivered. Yasu instantly let go of Monk and instead moved to cower behind Mai, who was currently trying to get a moved to try to get the medium off the floor. Mai and Naru simultaneously rolled their eyes. Mai could totally defend Yasu from Naru's death glare. Right.

Lin opened the door and gave Naru the charms. Some soft whispering was the only thing Mai heard from the world's quietest men.

"Alright." Naru said. He had everyone's attention. "It's time to get rid of this demon."

The demon watched as its prey came down into its home. He would get rid of the terriffing people that had caused his life to come to an end. Just a little longer and the people would be gone.

**_THE WORLD WILL BE NO MORE! THE WORLD WILL BE NO MORE! THE WORLD WILL BE NO MORE!_**

The demon sat back and waited as its prey approached their fate.

**(An: Alright everyone, I'm back! Sorry it took me a little longer to update. I just started my Christmas break, so I was still dealing with tests and stuff. I would have update yesterday, but my mom took away the laptop after we got into an argument.**

**Yea it has been a little eventful where I am. Also, I have something to ask you. Would you guys rather have the chapter in parts, or as a whole? If I put it together from now on, it would take me a lot longer to update, and I might miss some of the spelling errors when I correct. It I put it into parts, I will probably catch more errors, and I would be able to update a lot quicker, but you wouldn't get the whole chapter right away. I would probably be able to update a lot faster though.**

**Leave your answer in your review or PM me!**

**One more thing I would like to say, I have had over 3,500 people view my story! This make me very happy, and I love all of the reviews I am getting. Love you guys!Please keep it up!)**

**-WhisperToTheWolves**


	13. Chapter 10 Part 2

Chapter Ten

A Promise Kept From a Narcissus

Part Two

**(Disclaimer: Really People? Do I even need to say this? -_-' )**

* * *

Naru knew this was risky. He wouldn't have done this if there was another way. The group was nervous. Anyone that could not feel it in the air must have been a complete idiot. Understandably, the person that was the most nervous was Mai. Said girl was jumping at every sound that was heard. They hadn't even gotten to the tunnels yet. Naru could only imagine what Mai was going through. Whether it was a good thing or not, Naru had a good imagination.

The team members were all walking ahead of Mai as per her request. Lin was walking in front of everyone with Yasuhara following. Monk was behind him followed by John who was holding his holy water close to him. Masako was walking right next to Mai holding her hand tightly in her own. Naru was in the back observing everything with a professional eye.

The closer that Naru got to the group the clearer he saw how bad Mai's hand was shaking. Mai was so distracted by the sounds of the ominous hallway, that she didn't notice Naru quietly asking Masako something. Masako released her hand and walked ahead to join the priest. Mai moved the newly discarded hand around her small body frame. Naru walked beside her. He placed a hand on her shoulder and she jumped in surprise. She let out a quiet squeal and spun around to look her boss in the eye. He held him gaze before he turned away. Mai was still widely aware that his hand was still on her shoulder.

"Mai." He whispered "I won't let it hurt you."

Mai blushed slightly as she noticed that he had said 'I' instead of 'we'. Naru released his hold on her shoulder and instead choose to walk alongside the frightened teenager.

Minutes of walking and Naru watched as Mai slowly became more and more tense. Mai froze for a minute before she walked away from the group.

"Mai, What are you doing?" Naru hissed. Mai continued walking and turned down the corridor. Naru glanced behind him to see the rest of the team was not following. Not good. Mai continued walking and Naru had no choice but to follow her.

If she went by herself, she would surely be attacked by the demon. If she went with Naru without the team knowing, the team would not know where they are, but chances say that they would most likely not be attacked.

Naru rounded the corner and almost ran into Mai. She closed her eyes and placed her hand on the cold surface of the wood wall directly diagonal from her. Naru got the feeling this was the entrance into the secret passage way. Masako had run from here to the base?

Mai opened her eyes and studied the walls. This was the spot. She was sure of it. She was also sure she could feel Naru's gaze on her back. She turned to face him.

"Right there Mai?"

Mai nodded and started pulling on the door. Naru's eyes widened and he grabbed her hands to prevent her from pulling anymore. He shook his head when she looked up at him in frustration.

"Wait for the rest of the team to get here."

Mai puffed. They were already here. Couldn't they go in and take care of it by themselves?

As if Naru sensed her thoughts he said. "You won't be able to exorcise the demon and I can't exorcise without ending up in the hospital."

Mai leaned against the wall and sat down on the floor. She put her pouting head on her knees and Naru almost laughed. Almost.

The stopping of feet alerted Naru to put the façade back on his face. Seconds later the team was breathing heavily, even Lin. None of them looked happy, for various reasons. Masako looked at the walls in horror especially the wall where Mai was leaning. Lin, Takigawa, and Yasuhara looked irritated at the fact they had to run. The ever kind priest just looked worried.

"Why did you guys go off on your own from the group?!" Monk wheezed. It didn't sound very serious because he was out of breath. The intensity was lost.

Mai and Naru gave him an even stare. Finally Naru sighed and spoke.

"Mai ran off and I followed her. It's her fault not mine."

Mai stared up at Naru. Her shocked face easily reiterated her thoughts. She glared and crossed her arms. Naru could have sworn her heard her hiss traitor.

"How exactly am I a traitor? I spoke the truth."

Mai huffed. "Your making this sound like it was my entire fault. Geez."

Naru glared down at her. "It is your fault. If you had not run off alone, then…"

"Alright! Naru, Mai, this is no time to have a lover's spat." The now relaxed monk crossed him arms and stared at the two teenagers.

Mai turned her glare on the unsuspecting victim. "We are not having a lover's spat!" Mai paused and realized what she just said. She blushed. "And plus." She squeaked "We aren't lovers." Naru could have smirked if everyone else wasn't there.

"Naru." The Chinese man spoke, ignoring the argument the child-like people were having in the background. "We should move along." Lin's eyes flashed to the other assistant before looking at Naru questioningly. Naru sighed and shrugged.

"Ugh guys? I think Kazuya wants to move along." John said to the mental five year olds of the group. The two people in question looked up at Naru as he glared down on them. The both shivered as the temperature dropped. Lin sighed and leaned against the door Mai was currently next to. Mai jumped as the door was forced open from the outside.

"Does everyone have the charms?" Lin asked. Everyone but Mai nodded. "Then lets go."

The omnyoji opened the door widely and traveled down the rickety steps. Naru followed him after and took a good look at the place.  
The stone walls were covered in a rust-like substance which could easily be blood. The wood of the stairs creaked with every step that was taken. The air stank of mildew and rotten eggs. Naru could easily guess where the smell was coming from. Dead bodies. Naru could practically taste the evil in the air too. In order for the place to be like this, the demon must be very strong and must have been around for a long time. The others must have been feeling these things too, because Mai and Masako turned pale as a sheet and the rest of the spiritualists plugged their noses. Naru breathed in the air through his mouth instead of his nose. He almost gagged at the thick taste of the foul atmosphere.

At the quiet whispers of the group, Lin turned his head and put a finger to his mouth. Naru saw what he as trying to do and mimicked him to the other members. They all nodded and shut their mouths.

Mai gulped. The eerie walls brought terror into her. It rang throughout her very soul. Mai had a very bad feeling that this plan wasn't going to work. Mai shuddered and wrapped her arms around herself. A cold breeze echoed throughout the halls and the tunnels howled. The medium next to her grabbed her hand and held onto it tightly. Mai squeezed back with just as much force.

Mai could hear Monk and John walking behind them with as quiet steps as they could make. That made her feel better. She stood straighter and walked with more secure steps.

Naru watched him female assistant out of the corner of his eyes. Her eyes were wide and she shook a bit, but she was doing much better than he expected. She had improved since there first case together. Here she was, going to face a demon with out any protection. In that old haunted school house, she had jumped when he entered the door. It almost made him feel….. proud?

Naru felt the gaze of someone else and looked to see him other assistant looking back at him with a ghostly smirk touching his lips. Naru scowled and walked ahead of the Chinese man. The whole time he could feel the eyes of his assistant staring at the back of his head.

Mai watched as Lin smirked at Naru. Lin was smirking? That wasn't good. Mai shook her head. Everyone was acting weird lately. Mai looked up to see Naru and Lin stiffen.

"Show time." Naru whispered

Mai was about to ask him what he meant when she was grasped by her throat and thrown against the wall. Her vision blurred as she tried frantically to stand up. Lin yelled at everyone to take off the charms. Mai turned to see Naru looking at the demon with anger. He ripped off him charm and pulled something from his pocket. Mai's vision blurred and Naru threw something at her direction. It hit the demon on the back and he roared in rage. The demon spun around and released Mai. It threw Naru, making him hit the wall and effectively making him pass out.

"Takigawa and John!" Lin yelled "Start now!"

Monk and John started chanting. The demon roared and his wings arched, ready to take off. It lunged toward Mai and grabbed her around the waist. Its intent to leave the seen was vetoed as Lin whistled. The Shiki spun around the couple and rendered the creature immobile.

He hissed and scratched his claws frantically at the spirit servants. The demon began to get weaker and it escaped the tornado created by the slaves. It jumped over to the major source of its pain. Monk, John, and Masako fell back and hit their heads knocking there heads on the wooden stair case. It turned to its next victim.

Mai stood up and yelled as her friends suffered the sane fate as her boss. Tears streamed down her face as she ran toward the only other member of the team that was conscious. Lin grabbed Mai and pulled her toward him as the claws of the demon raked the air Mai had evacuated. Sweat covered his brow as he pulled in several shaky breaths. Using the Shiki had cost him a lot of energy. The demon walked closer toward him and raked his claws across Lin's face. Lin groaned as he fell to the ground. He clutched his eye and watched helplessly as the demon advanced toward Mai.

Mai screeched as the demon moved onto her. She knew this was a bad idea. She knew the plan wasn't going to work. Why hadn't she listened to her instinct?

The demon leaned in close to Mai face and she gagged at the smell. She shuffled back as fast as her body could let her. She winced as her body hit the stone wall. The demon screeched in victory and leaped at Mai putting a claw to her throat. Mai slowly raised her hand intending to do the nine incantations. What she actually did shocked her and Lin completely.

She slapped the demon hard across the side of its face.

Before Mai could actually register what she did, a blinding light blue force shot out of her hand and viscously burned the demon's face.

The demon hollered and fell backwards trying to get away from Mai and her strange power. Lin saw the opportunity and whistled for his shiki one last time. The Shiki rammed their way through the monsters head. The body seemed to still for a second before falling limply to the ground. The black energy rose into the air and evaporated. The thick air melted as the demon was cleansed. The air felt lighter and almost carefree. The demon was finally dead.

Lin turned tiredly to analyze the girl less than five feet from him. She had curled up into a ball and was shaking violently. Her head was placed in between her torso and her legs. Her legs were folded with her knees in the air. Lucky for her, she was not wearing a skirt. Lin understood the fact that she was traumatized. Her shaking body was proof enough. Unfortunately when you work for a psychic research facility your instincts from your job take over.

"Taniyama-san." Lin said harshly "Where did you learn to do that? How did you learn that? What was that?"

Mai's head popped up as soon as the first question. She flinched at everyone after that. Lin observed the tears that streamed down her face and felt slightly guilty. He had no choice in the matter though. These questions had to be answered.

Mai stared back at Lin with a broken face. Where had that power come from? What was it? "I don't know." She whispered. Her voice broke several times.

"Is this the first time this has happened?" Lin questioned again, a softer tone this time.

"Yea." She said fearfully.

Lin paused for a minute. Why of all times had this happened? Was it from the same source that caused Mai to create a barrier around her while she slept? What was it in the first place that had caused this?

"Lin-san." Mai whispered "Can you please keep this a secret for a while?" She looked down at the ground when Lin's eyes raised themselves to meet hers in a hard gaze.

"Why?" Lin said accusingly "Are you trying to hide something?"

At this point, Mai burst in to tears and Lin instantly regretted what he had said. He should push her hard, but he needed these answers. Mai clutched her head and entangled her hands through her hair.

"I don't know." She sobbed "Strange things keep happening to me. I don't want to trouble anyone else with these problems. There are so many reasons I don't want to tell them."

Lin didn't say anything for a minute while he speculated. Telling Noll and the team might push Mai over the limit. She might not mention anything if something else happened. He had to trust her and her judgment if any progress was going to be made.

"Fine, but only on a few conditions." Lin said. Mai looked up at him with a hope in her eyes. "For one thing, you do realize that we will have to tell the others eventually right?" When Mai nodded softly he continued. "Also, you will have to be the one to tell Noll."

Mai took in a shaky breath. When she told Naru she could already see the big argument that would follow. Telling the rest of the team was going to be complicated, but they probably wouldn't be as bad as Naru.

She nodded "I agree to the terms."

Lin sighed and ran a hand through his hair. He turned his head as he saw the rest of the team start to groan. "Impeccable timing." He muttered

Naru sat up and looked around the tunnels first. He saw the demon lying on its side. Since Mai was not screaming, he assumed it was dead. His eyes first met Mai's concluding she was physically okay. He noticed the tears streaming down her face and her petty shaking body. What exactly had happened? He looked toward his other assistant silently asking if it was that bad. Lin sighed and stood up. Naru followed his lead and stood up as well. He looked toward the irregulars and released a small breath he hadn't realized he had been holding. It seemed that no one was deeply hurt.

John clutched his head and sat up quickly. He blinked a few times in confusion. His blond hair was askew across his face, but he seemed unharmed. He stood up slowly and walked over to the unconscious medium. Naru watched as he carefully picked the celebrity up bridal style. Lin walked over to Takigawa and followed suit but instead of picking him bridal style he threw Takigawa's arm over his shoulder to support his weight. Naru dusted the dirt off his slacks as best as he could before he motioned for everyone to follow him up the stairs. Naru started climbing the first couple of steps before speaking.

"This case is over. Let's go home."

* * *

**Sorry for the lateish update. I've been busy with Christmas and stuff…. Alright so how was this chapter? I feel like the fight scene was really bad, but I don't know why. I was listening to Evanescence while writing it. Leave a review and let me know?**

**This is the end of the first case. Yay! Be ready for the next one! I'm excited to publish it!**

**Please leave a review and I want to thank all the people who have reviewed up until now! Arigato! *bows deeply***

**Now I have to start on the next chapter… i'm going to make it as fluffy as possible without making everyone out of character...**

**-WhisperToTheWolves**


	14. Chapter 11

Chapter Eleven

The Alive are Haunted too

**(Disclaimer: I only own Stupid Saki and the flower chick. I don't own anyone else!)**

Mai closed the door into her apartment with a small click. She sighed and slowly heaved her heavy black bag more securely onto her shoulder. She headed down the hallway and went into her room.

It had been a long and dangerous case. Monk had wound up with two broken ribs and Masako had a deep cut on her hand. Fortunately, there was no permanent damage. Mai opened her bag and dumped all of it onto the floor. Separating the dirty from the clean, she put them into there place of being.

It was late and Naru was still expecting her to be at SPR early tomorrow. She swiftly walked over to her desk and sat down. She hadn't got a report done on a play written by somebody named 'Shakespeare'.

"I have sworn thee fair, and thought thee bright. Who art as black as hell, as dark as night… I hate Shakespeare!"

Whenever she had tried to do her homework, the narcissist glared at her and she was forced to put her school work away. Now she had to do it all at once. Mai sighed. This would take a while

An hour later, Mai dropped her tired head against the back of her chair. She threw her pencil onto her desk and frowned when she heard a faint splintering sound. Sighing she put it on her mental list to buy more pencils.

She looked at the clock the continuously ticked on the wall. Eleven forty-six. Mai stuck her tongue out at it, then she laughed at how weird she was being.

Turning around she looked on her calendar to see if she had any more blasted assignments. June 30th- None.

"Yes!" Mai cheered. She fist pumped both hands into the air. "No more teachers! No more books! No more Naru's dirty looks!"

Mai glanced at the calendar one more time only to realize what was coming up. July 2nd. Mai's smile faded as quickly as it had come. Her body slumped fully against the chair and she looked at the ceiling to keep from crying.

"Okaa-san." She whispered "Otou-san. It's back again isn't it?"

Mai stood gently from her rotating chair. She walked over to the nice soft bed she bought after she had joined SPR. She laid her head on the pillow and pulled the blankets over herself. Tears leaked from the corners of her eyes and hit the emerald green pillow case.

"I miss you so much." She whispered softly. She buried her head deep into the pillow and sobbed. No doubt by morning, the pillow would be soaked.

That night, Mai Taniyama cried for the loss of her family.

* * *

Naru waited patiently for his assistant to arrive at work. It was eight forty-five. She was supposed to be here fifteen minutes ago. A ring of a bell alerted him that someone had opened the door. He stood up from his black leather chair and head for the front of the building.

"Mai Te- Takigawa what are you doing here? There is no work."

Monk looked up at him for a moment before looking around the office in a confused manor.

"Where is Mai? I was looking for her. I thought her shift started at eight thirty."

Naru narrowed his eyes in irritation. "Yes it has."

At that exact moment said teenage opened the door. Her brown hair laid flat on her head and dark circles were shadowing her eyes. Her normally colorful attire was replaced by black slacks and a long black shirt. She set her bag down on the floor out of the way. She did not meet eyes contact with anyone as she walked in the direction of the kitchen. Monk and Naru followed her with their eyes. Lin exited from his office just to see a Black clothed Mai enter the kitchen without saying anything. He gave a quizzical look in her direction before turning to his charge.

"Why is Taniyama-san wearing black? Noll have you assigned her work clothing attire?"

Naru shot an irritated look toward the omnyoji. "I have not. She just walked in."

"Hey." Monk whispered "Do you think-"

A loud crash from the kitchen made the three men jump. They all walked quickly to the kitchen to see Mai picking up a teapot surround by water. She looked up at the men with dead eyes before continuing to clean to kitchen floor. The top of the metal teapot was bent slightly and a piece of the jagged metal was sticking out. Mai stood up and set the pot back on the stove. She pressed her cheek lightly with one of her hands. She opened the cabinet and pulled out two rags. She laid them over the spilled water and attempted to exit the kitchen. Naru blocked her way.

Mai attempted to slide pass Naru but slid on some water she had missed. She hit the ground hard, releasing her hold on her cheek. A large cut made itself known as it started to furiously bleed. Monk gasped and the other two men opened there eyes slightly to show there shock.

Mai ignored the people standing over her and instead placed her hand on her cheek. She glared at the troublesome water that had caused it to come to this. She stood up and walked to the bathroom to clean the wound before it could become infected. Naru followed her, making a slight detour to grab the first aid kit from the closet. Monk and Lin stared for a moment before smirkin and going there seperate ways

Naru pushed the slightly ajar bathroom door open without the hinges creaking once. Mai stood in front of the mirror, one hand holding her cheek while the other traced her image. When Naru entered the bathroom she dropped the hand touching her reflection and turned to face him. Her face was expressionless as he lifted his hand to show her the kit. She raised her hand to take the case but he placed it out of her reach and put it near him on the counter. She furrowed her brows and he waked toward her. Her eyes looked dead and it was blank of emotion once again. He grabbed her chin and turned her head. She let go of her cheek and blushed slightly. The blood dripped down her check and landed on the counter. Mai reached around the counter and pulled a towel hanging on the wall off. She placed it against the blood stain without moving her head once. Naru looked her straight in the eyes and Mai's blush turned a deeper red. He smirked.

"If you are still blushing, then you haven't lost too much blood."

Mai looked away and glared at the unsuspecting wall. The fire in her eyes was obvious to see. Naru was glad she wasn't pyrokinetic, or the wall would have been burned beyond recognition.

Naru released her chin and opened the red medical kit. Mai watched as he searched through the case until coming across disinfectant and Band-Aids. Mai turned her head and he applied the disinfectant.

Mai flinched several time as the cleaner came in contact with her injury. She closed her eyes and faced the pain. This fiery pain was nothing compared to that day.

When Mai felt the movement on her face stop, she opened her eyes and looked at her boss. His sapphire eyes seemed to soften as he noticed she was glancing at him. He met her gaze before he started to walk toward the door.

"Be more careful."

Before Mai even realized what she was doing, she grabbed the back of Naru's shirt, preventing him from walking another step. Naru turned around to face the teen with surprise in his eyes. If Mai hadn't been working with him, it would have looked like he was indifferent. Mai lowered her head. Her bangs covered her eyes as she spoke.

"I'm sorry I have been like this." She whispered softly "My parent's death anniversary is tomorrow. I'm a little out of sorts. Not only that, But my birthday is the day after."

Naru's eyes softened again before he looked away. He hated his birthday too, for obvious reasons. "I understand. Do not worry about it."

He made to move again but Mai held fast to his jacket. He stopped trying to exit the bathroom and instead listened to his assistant.

"Do we have any cases?" She whispered.

Naru paused for a minute deciding whether or not to tell her. He chose the former.

"We have a client coming in today at ten thirty. If we take his case we will be leaving tomorrow."

Mai nodded and released his shirt. Mai stepped away and didn't meet his eyes. Naru took in her disappointed appearance and came to a conclusion.

"Was there something you were going to do tomorrow?"

Mai nodded and kept her voice low.

"Every year on their anniversary I go and visit their graves. It's a tradition… sort of."

Naru nodded. He did the same thing. On Gene's anniversary, he would always take the day off and devote the whole day to his memories, the times before and after they were adopted.

"During my lunch break," She continued quietly "Can I go visit them?"

Naru paused. It would be after the client's interview. There were no more cases to consider, so there wasn't any reason not to let her go.

"Yes." He turned around and started walking. He intended to walk back to office and finish his paperwork when a small spoken voice irrupted into the narrow hallway.

"Will you go with me?"

Naru froze. She wanted him to go with her? That must be a very trusting offer. But…. Did he deserve that trust she had in him? Judging my the way she had been acting all day, her parents were very important people to her. He almost felt flattered.

Mai watched as Naru's frame froze in the hallway. Did she ask it wrong? Was she insulting him? Naru probably saw her as a weakling. Not being able to visit a couple of dead people? Pathetic.

"Ah. S-sorry. That was probably wrong of me to ask." She stuttered "You don't have to go if yo-"

"I'll go." Naru said. Mai stared at him with wide eyes. He smirked. "Thank you."

"S-sure." She stuttered again.

Naru smile became bigger as he spoke. "However, If we do go, It will have to be before your lunch break. If we accept the case we will be busy. I won't have the time."

Mai blushed. Naru accepted. "Half an hour?" she squeaked.

Naru let the smirk fall and nodded. He continued walking this time until he reached his office and the door was shut securely behind him. Mai made sure the bandages were on her face tightly before heading out with her emotionless mask back on. It wouldn't due to have all her previous effort wasted with her acting. If she acted all depressed, Monk would want to know was going on and she would be forced to tell. Not that this acting made anything less suspicious….

Mai shook her head. There was no time to waste. She had to get the filing done before she left tor it would never get done. Mai walked out into the main room only to get tackled my Monk.

"Mai-chan~! Why are you acting so mean to me?" Monk leaned over her and pouted.

Mai took in a deep breath and her throat felt tight. Otou-san hugged her like this too.

Monk saw the tears in the younger girls eyes and immediately let go. He watched her with nervous eyes.

"What's wrong Mai?" He asked.

Mai stood up quickly and ignored him. She hated acting this way to Monk, but she had no choice. She walked over to her desk where a mound of paperwork almost towered over. She sat down and began separating the papers.

Monk frowned. It wasn't like Mai to ignore her friends. Something major was wrong with her. Was she sick? No, she wouldn't have come into work today and it wouldn't be the reason for her to ignore him. Maybe the others knew.

Wanting his thoughts to be answered, he strolled to the office door of the ones who probably had the answers. He knocked lightly on the CEO's door until he heard a grumble from inside. He opened the door slowly as if an animal would attack him. Naru was sitting at his desk with the mystical black folder in his hand.

"Big boss." He whispered quietly. It wouldn't due to get caught by the person he was asking about. "What's wrong with Mai-chan?"

Naru lifted one eyebrow coolly over his head. "I suggest you leave the office for the next few days. Don't come back until we call you."

Monk pouted. "I asked what's wrong, not what should I do to fix it."

Naru glared hard at Takigawa. "If she hasn't told you about it, then she won't. Leave."

Monk sighed in defeat. "Fine then. I'm leaving. I'll let the others know what you said."

Monk lowered his head and slinked out of the room. Before exiting the office Naru heard him give a farewell greeting to Mai. A few moments passed before a loud sigh was heard and the office door shut.

Naru sighed and looked up at the clock on his wall. Nine seventeen. He would be leaving to go with Mai soon. Naru groaned and stood up from his chair. Time to get ready.

* * *

Mai stared blankly at the digital clock on the wall. She had finished all her paperwork in the nick of time. Now she was debating whether or not she should go and get Naru from his office. The small clock dinged quietly as it turned nine thirty. Mai jumped as Naru's door opened before the clock had finished ringing. Mai laughed quietly to herself. Naru wouldn't forget. He was Naru.

Mai stood quietly with a small smile on her face as she grabbed her coat that was hanging near the door. After putting it on, she reached into the pocket and was relieved to feel the two keys there. Good she hadn't dropped them on her way to work. She held on tightly to the cold pieces of metal. She would not drop them.

Mai reached into her other pocket and made sure that her wallet and cell phone were still inside. Naru watched her patiently as he waited by the door. She seemed to frantically search for something in her pocket and she looked relieved when she found it. Her hand relaxed as she smiled up at him happily. He gave her a small smile and it turned into a smirk when he saw her blush. She stuck her tongue out at him and opened the door.

She sighed. "Come on, I want to get this over with."

Naru watched her carefully as he followed her out the door. Hopefully this would go well.

* * *

Lin heard his boss and coworker leave the building together. He raised an eyebrow. He stopped his typing on the computer and listened for anymore sounds. None.

A few minutes earlier, Naru had walked into his office and informed him that he would be leaving. Lin had nodded. This was normal. Naru left all the time when he had nothing to do. When he heard Naru talking to Mai, he assumed they were both leaving the office at the same time. Mai was probably going for an early lunch. His suspicions were denied when he heard Mai mutter about 'getting it over with.' He frowned. Where they leaving together? When the door shut and the office was quiet, He assumed he was correct. Were they going on a date?

Lin wondered if he should follow them, but decided against it. Instead he grabbed his cell phone from of the desk and pressed three on speed dial.

"Madoka, it's me." Lin said. He heard her respond on the other side of the phone. He smiled lightly. She would be thrilled at hat he had to say.

"You might be interested in what I have to tell you….."

* * *

Mai was glad that she was wearing a skirt. The wind was blowing hard. The girls across the street were not so lucky. They squealed as there skirts continued to go up. Mai glanced at Nru from the corner of here eyes to see if there was any reaction. He barely even recognized they were there.

A shop name caught her eye and she stopped. Mai looked up at the flower shop wondering if she should buy some. After a minute she told Naru to wait a sec before going inside.

A young lady with brown hair stood at the desk putting some flowers in a vase. She glanced up when Mai walked in. She took in Mai's black clothing and Mai had no doubt that she had seen the color many time before. She smiled and Mai realized that she wasn't much older than herself. Her hazel eyes once flickered to Naru who was waiting outside looking across the street at the park. She stared quizzically for a moment before she went back to associating with Mai. Mai raised an eyebrow. This was a first. Normally girls couldn't stop looking at Naru. Not that she blamed them….

"Hello Miss, what can I get for you today?"

Mai smiled. She seemed nice. "Can I have one dozen red roses please?"

The girl nodded and walked into the back room. She returned moments later with a bouquet in her hand. The girl smirked and looked at Mai with mischievous eyes.

"I thought the boyfriend was supposed to buy flowers for the girlfriend not the other way around."

Mai choked and blushed bright red. " N-no! It's not like that!"

The girl's smirked became bigger and she winked at Mai. "That's not what it looks like~!"

Mai sighed and handed the girl the money for the flowers.

She laughed "He's looking at you."

Mai squeaked and turned around to look at Naru. The blush on her cheeks had traveled to her ears. Naru was indeed staring at her. He looked at her expression, bemused and raised one eyebrow. Mai sputtered and looked away. The flower girl laughed.

"Anyways thank you for coming! You might want to go before the girl that is ogling him makes her move."

"What!" Mai hissed. Mai turned her head to see Naru leaning against a post. A black haired girl across the street was making her way towards him. Mai's eyes narrowed. Mai quickly bowed to the young girl before she headed outside to rejoin Naru.

Mai reached Naru's side just as the other wandering girl did. She sneered at Mai before turning to Naru. Naru regarded her with his cold eyes. He was not amused.

"Hey handsome. How about we go back to my place and get to know each other better?" She said seductively, or at least tried to.

Mai scowled. This girl was such a…..The words that rang through her head at that moment would have gotten her instantly expelled from school.

"No." Naru said flatly. His eyes glanced to Mai and he nodded slightly gesturing her to walk forward. Mai nodded back and clutched the roses close to her chest. She took a few steps forward only to be tripped by the Naru-admirer.

Mai hit the ground hard dropping the roses and scraping her hands against the cement. Her hands started to furiously bleed as she dusted herself off. Once again she was glad she was not wearing a skirt. Wearing one would have just showed her underwear and would have caused injuries to her knees.

The black haired girl snorted and tried to attach her self to Naru's arm. Naru slickly moved away from the girl and instead leaned down and grabbed Mai by her wrist. He pulled her up swiftly and reached down to grab the roses. He handed them to Mai still holding her wrist. Mai was very aware of this fact. Several onlookers had noticed the scene and started to stare.

The girl watched in shock. She was much prettier than whoever this girl was. Why had this man helped her? It made no sense. She watched the whole time as Naru lifted Mai off the ground. She gave Mai a look filled with daggers and hate. She glanced out at the crowd that had started to get bigger. This wasn't good. Making a scene was not in her favor. She knew she had only a few moments to try again before she would have to leave.

She grabbed Naru's arm and pulled it toward her hoping to attract his attention. She did, but not in the way that she had wanted. He gave her a cold glare that could have frozen boiling water. She gulped but was determined not to lose.

She gave him a smile that would have probably dazzled most men. "My name is Saki. What's your name?"

Naru gave her a hard glare and shook her off his arm. She stepped back shocked. She was beautiful? How could somebody not want her? Was he blind?

Saki nervously looked around the area at the surrounding people. Many had gathered, almost fifteen. Saki didn't know what to do, but Naru made the choice for her.

Naru took a step toward her. "That was very immature of you to do to Mai." He closed his eyes. "I thought at least some girls in the world wouldn't act like children. I recommend you step out of the way, before something happens you would want done."

Saki stumbled and took a step to the side. Naru let go of Mai's wrist and grabbed her hand instead. He pulled her along with such force that she almost dropped the roses.

Meanwhile from inside the flower shop, the flower girl was laughing at how oblivious the two of them were with each other.

* * *

Saying she was nervous would have been an understatement. Mai walked down the familiar worn cement. To her, the steps that she took sounded loud, like purpose stomps. She hadn't been to their graves in almost two years. She hadn't had the courage to do it last year. The year before she hadn't had the time, at least that is what she told herself. Mai took a deep breath and walked toward the graves. She leaned down and placed the roses on her mother and father's grave.

Naru watched as Mai put the flowers on the grave. She froze and slowly stroked the clean stone.

"It's in good condition." She whispered. "Who cleaned it? I haven't been here in two years." She murmured to herself. Naru raised an eyebrow. She hadn't been here since before he met her. Naru watched as Mai's eyes glazed over in memories.

After waiting for a few moments, he decided to ask something that had been on his mind as soon as they left the flower shop.

"Why did you buy red roses?" Naru asked "Most people don't use those flowers for graves."

Mai snapped up to look at Naru before looking down and touching the velvet petals. "They were mom's favorite."

Naru nodded. Luella had put sunflower and cherry blossoms on Gene's grave because they were his favorite. Naru could still remember the days that Gene would get up early to see them.

Naru looked at the stones.

Amaya Nakamura- Loving mother and friend. Died at age thirty.

Masaya Taniyama- Loving father, friend, and soldier. Died at age twenty three.

Naru stared at the second one a little longer than the first. Mai's father was in the army? He died at a very young age. Mai must not even have known him that much. Being in the army meant you had to part with your family a thought of the army brought up memories of when he and Gene looked up thier parents. His biological father had been in the army too. His mother had been a nurse.

"Oh yeah." Mai grumbled. She reached into her pocket and pulled out a key. Naru recognized it as the same key that Mai had given to Hara-san. No, not the same key. This one was slightly different. The slight rust that was on the other key was not present here.

Mai stood up and walked around to the other side of her parent's grave. She lifted a small box and set it down in front of the graves. She leaned over it and Naru had to move to see. Inside were five keys identical to the one that Mai held. Naru frowned. What was she doing?

Mai felt the gaze of someone on her back. She turned around and was not surprised to see Naru staring at her confused. She placed the key that she had in her hand inside the box and held it up. She almost tripped over her nervous explanation.

"Every year I put one key into the box. It's the same key that belong to the house that we all used to live in." she se the box down on her lap and shifted her hands nervously. "Well not every year. Michiru and Keiko did it the last two years." She looked down at the ground, ashamed. "I couldn't bring my self to come alone. Michiru and Keiko wanted me to go, but they said they wouldn't come with me. The next day wound up with them taking the key for me." Mai took a deep breath to still the tears that were sure to come. "My sensei came with me the years before that…. I'm such a coward." She lowered her head and let the tears fall. "I'm so lucky I even got to meet my parents. Lot of people don't. There are millions of orphans in this world. Most of them don't cry of there lost ones and I can't even bring myself to visit there graves."

Mai sobbed not able to stop the tears from flowing down her face. She hurriedly tried to wipe them away before something grabbed her hand.

Naru stared down at Mai as she told the history of the keys. It was obvious to anyone that she cared about her parents a lot. They way that she talked about her family made that very clear. Naru could bare to see Mai cry any longer. He quickly strolled over to her and grabbed the hand that tried to rub her tears away. Mai looked up at him through her blurry eyes. Naru looked at the grave stones and traced the outline of it. Mai turned and watched his hand as he did so.

"How did they die?" Naru asked suddenly. He hadn't even realized what was said until the words were already out of his mouth. He felt Mai's hand stiffen before she relaxed. He relaxed also not even knowing he had tensed after asking the question. He unconsiously started rubbing the scabs on her hands she had recieved from her fall.

"They," Mai paused wondering how to explain it. "Otou-san divorced from my mom after they had a fight. I don't remember what it was; I think I was too young. Anyways, he moved to America and became part of the military. He left when I was three." Mai looked at Naru. "He came back." She replied bitterly "He came back one year later in a body bag." Naru stared at her shocked. Mai looked down at the hand that was holding hers. Naru didn't have time to comment on her father, as she had moved on to her mother.

"Okaa-san died in a huge fire when I was eleven. I barely came out unscathed. She threw me out of the second story window." She traced her left shoulder with her right hand and her eyes glaze over. "I have a scar from where the doctors did surgery on my back. There was something lodged in it. I don't remember what. All I remember was that it hurt and the doctors said it was a miracle that I survived." She dropped her arm and it lay in her lap, shaking.

_'I'm glad that you did' _He thought '_We all are.'_

Several moments passed before she spoke up once again. "You know," she said looking up at him. "I think orphans suffer the most pain in the world. What do you think?" She tilted her head to the side.

Naru looked at her tear streaked face. "Most people don't see it that way. However," He thought of all the orphans at the orphanage that had gone through the same things. "Sometimes we can find comfort among others like ourselves."

Mai laughed lightly and Naru was almost happy to see her smile. "Of course you always know what to say and how to say it scientifically."

Naru smirked. "Oh but of coarse."

Mai stood up and pulled on Naru's hand. He slowly stood up, just to tease her. Mai huffed "You're a jerk.

Naru gave Mai a smile. A real smile. The one that she had only seen a few times, and the one that nobody at SPR at seen. Mai turned her head ad blushed. Her face continued to change until a thought came into her head.

_I can use it against him._

Her evil idea pooped into her mind and she smirked knowingly. Naru smirked faltered for a second before regaining its force. When Mai smiled evilly, that was generally not a good thing.

Mai let go of the narcissus's hand and leaned forward. When her face was less than three inches away, she whispered.

"You know, you're a lot more handsome when you smile. I recommend you do it LESS often."

Naru frowned. That didn't make any sense. If he was more handsome when he smiled, they he should smile more often. Smileing less would attract less attention. Mai smirked and stood up. Naru still didn't get it. Maybe Masako was right about him being an idiot. Her smile faltered and she thought to herself.

_On the other hand, he's not in love with anybody. It doesn't matter if I am._

Mai raised her arm above her head and stretched. Sitting down to long made her back sore. Mai smoothed out the wrinkles in her shirt before turning around and walking quietly. She could tell Naru was puzzled by her comment when he looked up at her. His expression was filled with bewilderment and confusion. Mai relished joy in his confusion. She smiled and cupped her hands around her face.

"Hey narcissus! Are you just going to stay there all day? Hurry up! The client is coming at ten thirty!" Mai laughed again and started walking in the direction of SPR.

When Naru was sure she wasn't looking he stood up and quickly bowed to the graves.

"**Thank you." **He said in English **"Thank you for bringing your daughter into my life."**

He stood up quickly and made his way to his assistant that had already stopped to tie her shoe. She didn't see him do anything. And for that he was grateful. He didn't want his feelings to ruin the friendship he already had.

* * *

"Oh my god!" Madoka squealed over the phone. "Really?! That's great! We might be able to get the two idiots together yet!"

Lin sighed. Madoka had called six times today to ask if Noll and Mai had come back yet. Each time he told her that they weren't. Madoka would ask him to explain the story again and he would get the same reaction each time. He knew Madoka would act like this. That was exactly why he told her the first time. He knew that Madoka wanted to be kept informed and since Noll was not going to, he was going to do it himself. It might get him good points with Madoka too. Lin smirked.

Mai's laughter filled the office as the ringing of a bell was heard. Lin heard Naru sigh loudly before heading in the direction of his office. Lin interrupted the question Madoka was about to ask. The walls in the office were thin and Noll would be able to hear everything that was said.

"Madoka," Lin said quickly "They are back. I have to go."

Madoka whispered a quick good bye before hanging up. Lin sighed and put down the cell phone. He could already see Madoka's plan.

_'Well'_ he smirked '_I can't blame her.'_

* * *

Mai smiled happily as she looked out the second story window. Naru was a narcissus jerk sometimes, but he understood her a lot more than anyone else in the world. That made her happy. She was glad that she had made such a good friend. Even after she had confessed to him, he was still there for her and had offered her job back to her when he came back to Japan. He never outright said it, but henever denied it either when Mai brought the subject up.

Mai laughed to herself. She couldn't sit here and dilly dally. She had work to do. She glanced one more time at the cherry tree across the street before turning around to do her job.

"Thank you Naru."

* * *

**(An: Finished! Finally! I have been working nonstop to try to finish this. It is a little over nine pages long. Please Please Please Please PLEASE Review! **

**I tried really hard on this chapter and I want to know how I did! :D**

**I would like to thank all of my reviewers, followers, and favoriters for your continued support! It was the only reason I was able to complete this chapter! This very long chapter is dedicated to all of you! **

**This chapter is also dedicated to everyone as a Christmas present! Happy late Christmas and happy New Year! If you don't celebrate Christmas, then this chapter is dedicated for you guys just because you read it. **

**Btw, Can you guys tell me if I am keeping the characters in check? I try but I don't know how I am doing. Only a few people have pointed it out. A major one goes to BarbwireHeart. Thank you! You are awesome!**

**Please review guys! :) **

**-WhisperToTheWolves**


	15. Chapter 12

Chapter Twelve

An Inferno's Gift

**(Disclaimer: Do I Really have to say this... *Pouts*)**

* * *

"Ouch! That's hot!"

Mai put her slightly burned finger inside her mouth. When would she learn not to burn herself on the kettle?

Mai sighed. Probably never. She stepped away from the kettle and kept a wary eye on it. She opened the cabinet and removed a teacup. After placing the necessary number of tea leaves, she pored hot water into the tea cup.

Mai lifted the tea cup carefully and walked to her boss's room. Right as she was about to knock, the door opened and her hand hit her crush's chest.

Naru held his mysterious black folder in his hand. He raised an eyebrow as his assistant hit him in the chest. Mai blushed and jumped back.

"S-sorry." She stuttered. She lifted the tea and handed it to him. Her face turned darker and she whirled herself back to her desk. Naru smirked. Typical Mai. At least she was not depressed anymore.

Mai rested her head on her desk. That was embarrassing. I should pay more attention.

Naru walked into the room and sat down. He opened his notebook and grabbed a notepad. He tossed the notepad at Mai.

"The client should be here in a few minutes. Your taking notes."

Mai huffed "Fine but do I have to write in sentences?"

Naru looked at her with disbelief. "Notes Mai. Notes."

Mai stuck her tongue out at Naru. Naru rolled his eyes. Childish.

The ring of bells brought the attention of Naru and Mai's eyes to the door. A man walked in with dark circles under his eyes. His light red hair immediately reminded Mai of her father. Her instincts told her that this man was friendly and meant no harm.

"Umm excuse me? Is this SPR? I have an appointment."

Mai stood up and bowed. "Hello sir, my name is Taniyama Mai. We have been expecting you." She gestured to the couch. "Please have a seat." The man gave a grateful smile and sat down. "My name is Watanabe Grey."

"Watanabe-san." Naru stated blandly. Mai shot him a glare. "What are the strange phenomena that are current in your house?"

The man sighed and ran a hand through his hair. At this point, Lin apparently heard we had a client, as he walked out of his office with his laptop in his arms. He sat down on the other side of Naru and began typing.

"I haven't actually experienced any phenomena, my wife has. She says that at some points, she will get the feeling she is being watched. When she stays in our bedroom, when I'm not home, the light will be on. Normally, she will read a book or think to herself. Something will open the door and the light will shut off. My wife, Sayuri, says that she will hear whispering right afterward and the door will shut on itself again."

Naru hummed. Mai could tell that Naru was getting more and more interested in this case.

"Anything else?"

The man nodded fiercely. "When my wife wakes early in the morning, sometimes something will drag her out of bed." Naru raised an eyebrow. Interesting.

Grey stopped momentarily in his speech as he dug around in his pocket. He pulled out a small set of photos and handed them to Naru. Naru took them without a word. Mai looked at them over his right arm. A picture of a lady with burns on the side of her body was shown. The burns looked like rug wounds, not heat. Mai looked back at the man curious to hear what else was happening.

"Sometimes she will walk down the hall and she will get touches or pats on the head from something. When she turns around nothing is there." He took in a deep breath. "Also, there will be carvings on the walls." Naru head shot up and studied the man to see if he was lying. The man continued as if he hadn't seen Naru look at him with an intimidating look. "Several phrases are carved into the walls. Like 'I'm sorry.', 'I'm glad your alive', and 'You left me.'" Grey frowned. We tired to figure out what they meant, but what ever is there won't write anything else." The man stood up and bowed deeply to the members. "Please help us! I don't want my wife to be in any more danger as it is."

"Where do you live?" Naru asked out of nowhere. The man jumped slightly at the unusual question. "Um, Osaka sir."

Naru placed his hand on his chin and sunk into deep thought. Lin had ceased his eternal typing and stopped to stare at Naru. Mai sighed and grumbled to herself. Naru raised an eyebrow at her action.

"Is there something wrong with Osaka, Mai?" Naru asked bemused.

Mai jumped and her posture went stiff. She looked up and gave them to innocent a look. "No nothing at all. Why would you say that?"

Naru rolled his eyes and turned his head back to the client. "We will take your case." Mai's hands clenched. She got pale faced and sat on the couch with a dark, uneasy feeling growing inside her. "Expect us there tomorrow at nine. We will be sending our equipment ahead of time, please receive it before hand."

Grey smiled and nodded vigorously. "Of course! Thank you so much for your help!"

Naru nodded and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Leave your address with my assistant." He nodded toward Lin, who gave him a sheet of paper. Lin talked quietly with the client, before handing the address to Naru. Naru looked it over for a minute before slipping it into his magic black possession.

"Mai be here at five thirty tomorrow." He stood up and entered his office not even giving her time to respond.

Lin escorted the client out the door before beginning to head back to his own. He paused by the couch where Mai sat with her head in her hands.

"Taniyama-san, is something wrong?"

Mai jumped up at the sound of Lin's voice. She could have sworn that he had returned to his own office when Naru did. She squeaked when she saw that he was standing less than three feet from her. Stupid ninja Chinese men…..

Lin's face darkened and he whispered quietly. "Has something else happened?"

Mai instantly knew that he was talking about her strange abilities. The last case had been quite a shock for them.

She shook her head but kept her voice lowered. "No, I'm just getting a bad feeling about this case. That's all. It's nothing that hasn't happened before."

Lin shook his head, refusing to believe that answer. "You didn't act like this on any of the other cases. We haven't even started yet."

Mai sighed. "Fine then. It's a lot worse. It's a really bad feeling. Like something…. Something is going to happen that I don't want to see."

Lin nodded. He believed this answer. It was a lot better than 'just a bad feeling'.

"Tell me if anything happens." With those words, he walked away, still not making a sound.

"Yep." Mai grumbled "Defiantly a ninja." She leaned back into the couch and let her eyes fall closed.

"I have no idea what you are talking about, nor frankly do I want to know." Naru said coolly from beside her. "However, you are supposed to be working and I need you to call everyone that is available to come." Mai screeched and jumped off the couch. Naru stood next to her with a smug expression on his face. Mai scowled and crossed her arms. She began to mumble to herself about how ninjas worked for psychic research facilities. Naru rolled his eyes at her childish antics.

"Also, one more thing." He leaned close to her face. When they were less than five inches from each other, he smiled and whispered.

"Mai…. Tea."

Mai turned bright red and nodded vigorously. She speed off to the kitchen without another word. Naru had just reached his office as Mai put the kettle on the stove. A thought hit her and she fumed at the already closed door.

"Naru! You jerk!"

Naru smirked. Mission annoy Mai completed. Result- Successful.

Naru leaned back in his chair and stared up at the ceiling with a smirk. This would never get old.

* * *

Lin froze as he heard Naru and Mai talking quietly in the main room. Had Naru been listing in on there quiet conversation, even when they were being so careful to be silent? Not even Lin's shiki would save him from the wrath of his charge.

Lin gave a sigh of relief when the words ninja and jerk fluttered throughout the office. That had nothing to relate to the conversation they were having.

He heard Noll's office door shut quietly before returning to his work. It looks like he would live another day. It would be troublesome if he died before he and Madoka completed their goal.

"Naru! You jerk!"

Lin rolled his eyes. For once Madoka was completely right. Those two idiots were meant to be together.

* * *

Mai marched into Naru's office and set the teacup down hard on the desk. Tea almost dripped down the sides, it would have if she had placed it down any harder. She turned around and stalked back to her desk leaving an amused narcissus in her wake.

She grabbed her cell phone and held it to her ear as ringing went on in the background. A bright voice chirped as she waited.

"Hey~! This is Yasuhara Osamu~! I am currently working on something right now! Leave a message and I'll call you back as soon as possible."

Mai sighed. Of course he wouldn't pick up. He was probably still in school.

"Hey Yasu, its Mai. We have a new case and we need to know if you will be able to accompany us. Let me know soon."

Mai hung up and scrolled through her contacts. She pressed the send button and held the device up to her ear.

"Hello?" The male voice ran through the phone and Mai winced as her loud speaker had somehow come on. She turned it off quickly before responding.

"Hey Monk, we have a new case and I was wondering if you and Ayako could make it."

A loud screech was heard though the phone making Mai flinch. She heard a loud bang and unintelligible moans from Monk. He sighed and static filled the silence momentarily.

"Sorry Mai-chan I can't come. Ayako wants me to stay here with her for a while to help her get ready for the baby."

Mai's ears popped with curiosity and she held the phone closer.

"OOH! Do you know the gender?"

Monk sighed again "No, Ayako wants it to be a surprise." Another loud thud and a cry from Monk got Mai instantly alert. She relaxed when Monk spoke back into the phone.

"I have to go; Baa-chan~, wants me to help paint." He sighed before he hung up.

Mai grumbled before she called the two other remaining members. Both the priest and the medium gave their short confirmations before leaving for various things.

Mai sighed and thought how tiring the day had been. Running on zero hours of sleep was horrible. She hoped she would sleep well tonight. Glancing at the clock, she noticed that it was no where near the time to go home. She couldn't work on any paper work; she had done it all before they left.

She laid her head down on her desk and before she knew it, darkness swelled and consumed her mind.

* * *

Naru groaned and leaned his head back on his chair. He didn't eat breakfast or lunch. E was hungry. Looking at the clock, he saw that it was way passed the time for Mai to go home. Before she left she always said good bye to him. He stood from his chair and left his office. He was about to tell Mai to make tea when he saw that she was sleeping peacefully on her desk. Her head was lying down on her arms which were crossed across the desk. Her bag was next to her. No doubt she hadn't put it away after coming back to the grave. She needed to go home.

Naru walked over to his assistant's desk and shook her shoulder lightly. Mai made no response. Naru frowned. Was she sick? He moved his hand from her shoulder to her forehead and waited. Defiantly warm, but…

Naru placed his hand back on her black covered shoulder and shook harder. A small whimper was heard. Naru felt his face crease with worry. What was wrong with her?

"Mai. He said urgently "Wake up."

Mai's eyes fluttered open and she glanced up at Naru with tired eyes.

"Naru….. What is it?"

Naru breathed in a sigh of relief. Finally, she woke up.

"You need to go home. I believe you have a fever." He paused "I'll drive you."

Mai nodded slightly and moved to gather her things. She felt awful. It would make sense if she was indeed sick. She didn't even realize that Naru was driving her home until they walked toward his car.

Naru opened the car door for her and watched nervously as she sat inside. Her face was still flushed and the dark circles under her eyes had not gone away. Her fluttered closed and she leaned her head on the head rest taking shallow breathes. Naru shut the door and walked to the driver's side. He closed the door after he got in and started the car.

Mai listen vaguely to her surroundings. The purr of the car almost begged her to fall asleep. Mai shifted her head slightly and opened her eyes. She saw Naru glance at her from the corner of his eye.

"Where do I turn?" He asked.

Mai jumped slightly before she looked at the road.

"L-left." Naru nodded and made the turn.

The car ride was quiet except for the directions that Mai gave to Naru to get to her home. When Naru pulled up to the apartment, he killed the engine. He gave a quizzical glance to Mai who was huddled against the seat of his car. He opened the car door and stepped out into the cold night breeze. He walked out to the other side of the car and opened the door for Mai. She winced as the cold air invaded the heat of the car but stepped outside no the less. She began walking up to her building when she got the feeling she was being followed. She turned around and jumped at the fact that Naru was following her.

Naru gave her an annoyed look. "What is it? I'm just walking you to your door."

Mai nodded with a squeak and turned around to start walking again. When she reached her door she fumbled with her keys and unlocked it. Naru leaned against the wall while she was doing this. He analyzed her every move. When she opened the door she bowed toward Naru.

"Thank you for taking me home."

"Don't worry about it." He smirked "How can you make me tea if you are sick?"

She huffed and glared at her wall. She stood there awkwardly wondering if she should invite him inside. Naru made the decision before her.

He walked a few steps to where she stood and put a cool hand against her forehead.

"You have a fever. Get to bed. I will pick you up at five thirty tomorrow morning."

"Y-you don't have to do that." She mumbled. Naru just raised an eyebrow at what she said. He moved his hand away from her even though for some reason he wished it to stay.

"Get to bed." He stated again. He watched her for a moment as she entered her house and he heard the door lock. He turned around and headed for his car.

Mai watched Naru from her window as he got into his car and drove away. That was nice of him. She scowled when he thought of the fact that he ordered her at her own house. She sighed. Oh well. Mai changed into her night clothes and brushed her teeth. She climbed into her emerald sheets and closed her eyes. She grew tired quickly and released herself to the memories held in her dreams.

* * *

_"No! MAMA! PLEASE! GET UP!" Mai tugged on her mother's shoulder as there house continued to burn from the inside. Her mother was laying on the ground her face against the soft carpet. Her breathing came in labored breathes. The smoke that flowed throughout the house made it hard for the two ladies to breath. _

_Mai fell to the ground in a coughing fit. "Momma." She wheezed. "Come on…We have to leave…." _

_Amaya Nakamura looked up at her only daughter. Determination filled her eyes. She was not going to make it out of the burning building, but she would make sure her daughter did. She had sprained her ankle the day before and could not walk without difficulty. _

_"Mai." She coughed "listen to me."_

_Mai stopped coughing momentarily to listen to her mother's last words._

_"I'm so sorry, Mai. Remember I will always love you."_

_With that done Amaya sat and push Mai out of the second story window. Mai screamed as something ripped through her shoulder. She fell out the window and landed on something that was soft yet painful. She tired to ignore the pain in her left shoulder as she tried to race back into the house._

_"Mama! Mama, Don't leave me!" Mai cried as she knew she would never see her mother again. Darkness numbed her body and she fell unconscious. _

**_Mama I'm sorry I couldn't protect you_**_._

* * *

Mai sat up quickly from her covers. She wiped the sweat of her face with the back of her hand. Every year she witnessed how helpless she had been on the day that her mother died. She tried to go back to sleep, but she knew that it wouldn't happen.

She rolled over out of her to warm bed to touch to cold floor. She ran her fingers through her hair to tame some of the knots. After failing miserably, she sighed and wandered into the kitchen for a glass of water. She didn't bother to turn on the light. She had memorized the kitchen already, inch by inch. She opened the cupboard and reached randomly inside and pulled out a cup. She walked over to the sink and ran the water. She filled the cup to the brim and then chugged it all at once.

After finishing her drink, she set down the cup and looked to see how early she had gotten up.

Four forty six. She would have gotten up in fourteen minutes anyways.

She stretched and yawned until she was sure the creaks in her body were gone. She walked back to her room and pulled on more black clothes. She would probably be wearing theses outfits for the next few days. She was lucky that Michiru had forgotten to throw them out.

She walked into her bathroom and took a shower. After ten minutes, she stepped out feeling better than she had in days. She towel dried her hair until it wasn't dripping wet anymore. She ran her brush threw her hair until she was satisfied. She dressed in the black clothing that she had brought with her.

Mai walked back into the kitchen and decided to make some tea and eat breakfast. She slid a couple of bread slices into the toaster. While she waited, she pulled out butter to put on top. When the toast popped out, she buttered it and ate it in silence. She grabbed the tea pot which was sitting peacefully on the stove. She filled it to the top with water and set it on the stove. She walked back to her room to continue packing.

She had packed half of her bag when a ring of the doorbell stopped her progress. She glanced at the clock confused. It was only five fifteen. Naru wasn't due to arrive until five thirty. Who was at the door?

She rose on her feet and walked back into the living room. She opened the door, and much to her surprise, a very red nosed Naru stood waiting. She raised an eyebrow.

"Aren't you a little early?" When he just stared at her, she sighed and waved him inside. "I'm not done getting ready yet. Come on in, you are going to freeze out there. I was just about to make tea." As if on cue, the kettle whistled, calling her to release it from the heat of the stove. She walked into the kitchen as Naru walked inside and shut the door.

Mai walked to the stove and moved the kettle to a different burner. She took out two teacups and placed them on the counter. She pulled out a container of Earl Grey and placed reasonable amounts in each cup. She poured the hot water into each cup and placed the still hot kettle back on the stove. She picked up both cups and proceeded to the living room where her boss most likely was.

As she suspected, Naru was standing next to the couch taking a look at the interior of her home. His eyes traced the walls until they reached her. His gaze locked on the tea in her hands. Mai smirked and walked over to hand him the tea. He gave a nod of thanks as he eagerly took a sip of the drink. Mai didn't notice the corners of his mouth lifting upward.

Mai finished her tea and placed it on the table that she hardly ever used. She turned back to Naru.

"I'm going to finish my packing. I'll be out in a few minutes." She turned and walked back to her room.

She knelt next to her bag and once again continued the process of putting her black clothing inside. After finishing with that, she walked into her bathroom and grabbed her necessary toiletries. She paused by her school bag before putting her textbooks into her bag. She walked into the living room with her black bag on her shoulder.

"Okay~!" She sang "All ready now~!"

She noticed her teacup still sitting on the table. She turned to Naru who had walked toward her. She glanced at his tea cup and seeing as it was empty, held her hand out. Naru placed the tea cup in her hand without a word. Mai grabbed her cup along with it. She saw that the kettle on the stove was still steaming hot. A thought occurred to her and she looked at the clock to see if she had the time. Five twenty five. Perfect.

Naru watched Mai from the wall just outside from the kitchen. She paused momentarily next to the sink and looked at the kettle. She glanced at the clock on the wall and Naru could see that she had thought of an idea. She turned to him with a smile on her face.

"There is still a lot of hot water inside the teapot. I can make you tea a lot of tea and put it inside a thermos. It should last until we get to Osaka."

Naru thought about it for a minute before he closed his eyes. "That would be nice."

Mai's smile brightened as she took out her black thermos from under the counter. She placed the tea leaves in the kettle and leaned against the counter. After waiting a few minutes she removed the leaves and dumped the now ready tea into the thermos. She handed the object to Naru. He took it carefully from her hands and his fingers brushed hers.

"Thank you." He said quietly.

Mai blushed bright red and she mumbled you're welcome. She read adjusted her bag better on her shoulder and headed for the door. She opened the door and Naru followed her thermos in hand. Mai locked the door before she turned to Naru.

"Where did you park?"

Naru raised an eyebrow at her before he started walking. He heard her huff from behind him. He smirked. She was so easy to annoy.

He walked to his car and unlocked the doors. He entered the driver's side as Mai entered the passengers. Mai placed her bag down at her feet as he placed the warm thermos in the cup holder. After seeing that Mai was buckled in, he started the engine.

Mai relaxed into her seat and watched the trees and building blur outside of the window. It didn't take them long to arrive at SPR.

Lin was waiting outside the building down by the curb talking quietly to John. Two taxis were in front of them. Naru drove pass them slightly to his parking space. Lin raised an eyebrow at the fact that Mai was with him. Naru told him that he was just going out for breakfast. Sly fox.

Naru exited his car and Mai walked alongside him. After Mai and John exchanged hellos, Naru spoke.

"When Hara-san gets here, we will leave." He stated coolly. The thermos in his hand was still very warm.

As if on cue, a car drove up and Masako got out of the backseat. She opened the front seat of the car and mumbled something to the driver. She shut the door and walked over to the group. The car drove away.

"Hey Masako!" Mai smiled. Masako smiled back.

"We will be leaving now." Naru said. He split everyone up into the two taxis. Lin, Mai, and himself would ride in the front one and John and Masako would ride in the one behind it.

Lin took shotgun and Naru rode on the window seat opposite from Mai. Mai leaned her cheek against the window and breathed against it. It fogged up and she made a smiley face with her finger. She smiled weakly as Lin told the driver of there destination. She let her smile fall as she closed her eyes. She ignored the feeling inside her that said something bad was going to happen.

They headed to the train station to ride the train to Osaka. Naru had already bought the tickets online. They boarded the train and put their luggage over their head. Naru and Mai sat at one of the seats while Lin sat on the other side. Masako and John sat in the seats next to theirs.

Mai opened her cell phone and started playing a game. Suddenly a thought came to her and she turned to her boss.

"Hey, I totally forgot to ask. Is Yasu coming?"

Naru closed his eyes and shook his head. "No. Yasuhara-san's parents have requested that he stay home for the time being. He has missed far to much school and is getting behind." He turned toward Mai who nodded. "What about you? Are you behind in your studies?"

"Nope!" Mai chirped "I have A's in all my classes! I always get caught up in my classes after we come back after cases."

Naru gave a nod of approval. Lin watched the two of them as they spoke to the other. Noll was being unusually chatty. Lin also noticed that the thermos in his hand was not his own. He didn't have any. Did Taniyama-san make it for him?

When Mai and Naru were done with the conversation they were having, Mai turned back to the game on her cell phone. She frowned. She had forgotten to pause it and lost the game. She restarted the game and got to the tenth level before losing. Naru watch from over her shoulder.

"Tetris Mai?"

Mai looked up and scowled at him. "Is it wrong for me to play with blocks?" Realizing how that made her sound young, Mai blushed and spoke again. "Anyways it's just a game." Naru rolled his eyes.

Mai eventually felt her eyes droop. Her hand that held the phone went slack. She phone dropped into her lap. Her head tilted to the side and bumped into Naru's shoulder. Naru jumped slightly at the weight that hit his shoulder. It wasn't the fact that Mai was heavy; it was the fact that Mai surprised him. He watched her for a minute before he took a sip of his tea and looked out the window once more.

Lin raised an eyebrow at Mai. "That was quick, even for her." Naru nodded in agreement.

The rest of the ride was silent, except for the slight mumbles coming from Mai.

* * *

John stretched his arms away from his body. The ride has been long and boring. It was only nine o'clock in the morning; no doubt they would have more work to do. He glanced at the medium across from him. She was fast asleep. John leaned over the seat to look at Mai. She was asleep as well using Naru as a pillow. Naru was slumped against the window. John couldn't tell if he was sleeping or not. Lin raised and eyebrow at him when he chuckled.

"All of the girls are asleep." He whispered. Lin blinked.

"Noll is to." He said calmly "Are you calling him a girl?"

John laughed quietly. "No. I couldn't even tell if he was sleeping." Lin nodded.

**"All ladies and gentlemen that are stopping at Osaka city, please have your luggage ready. We will arrive in five minutes."**

John, Lin, and a lot of the other passengers sighed. Finally.

Lin reached over to Naru's shoulder and shook lightly. "Noll, we are here."

Naru's eyes almost instantly opened. He looked down at the peacefully sleeping girl on his shoulder. He could hear John waking Masako from behind them.

Naru gently placed his hand on Mai, as if she might break. He shook her lightly, as Lin did to him. She groaned and her eyes opened slowly. However, when she realized she was leaning on Naru's shoulder, she stood up like a shot. She blushed and leaned away.

"S-sorry." She stuttered. Naru shrugged. "I don't mind." Mai's blush turned darker.

Lin watched with an amused eye. Of course he didn't.

"Well," Mai chuckled nervously "I'm going to get some water." Naru smirked as she shot off. Lin rolled his eyes. They both need to open their eyes.

When Mai came back her blush was gone and the train doors had opened. Everyone grabbed their luggage and got off the train.

Lin called for taxis while the rest of the group waited patiently for their rides to come. When the cars came, Lin whispered the destination to them. Mai yawned loudly.

"How can you still be tired? You slept on the whole way here." Naru said.

Mai shrugged. "No idea. I slept decently last night too. I slept until my dream woke me up."

"Dream?" Naru asked sharply "Why didn't you tell me earlier?"

"Because," Mai stated in a bland voice "It was just a nightmare from a memory of mine."

"Okay." Naru relaxed. That's good. It had nothing to do with the case if it was just a memory.

"Alright." Lin spoke up. "We can go now."

Everyone nodded and slipped inside the taxis. Once everyone was buckled in, they started the drive.

It only took a few minutes to get there. It also only took a few minutes for Mai's uneasiness to grow. The bad feeling that she had since they accepted the case had grown stronger the closer they got to the client's house. Perhaps she was just getting sick. Mai closed her eyes and leaned her head back on the head rest. She hadn't even noticed they stopped until Naru tapped on her window. She jumped and got out of the car. She was so busy that she didn't even notice where they were. Mai spoke with John and Masako while Lin spoke to Naru.

"Ah, welcome to our home." Grey said. Mai smiled at him. He was so kind. He gestured to the home and Mai froze.

No. No, it couldn't be.

Naru noticed Mai stiffen and turned to face her. "Mai, what's wrong?"

Mai didn't answer she just stared at the house in front of her. The other members of the group turned toward Mai as Naru waved a hand in her face. Her wide eyes didn't even flinch at the closeness.

"This is… this is the house?" She whispered.

"Yes Mai. What's wrong with it?"

Mai turned to stare at Naru. Her thin body trembled and her lip quivered as she spoke.

"Okaa-san…. Okaa-san died in this house."

* * *

**(An: Dun Dun Dun! Ohhhh! What's going on here?I don't know… Or do I? Btw I wanted to post this as soon as possible, so I didn't edit it. I apologize for the errors**

**I would like to thank all of my favoriters and followers! I also thank all my reviewers! I am happy to say that I have over 5,500 Views! I also have 23 favorites, 49 followers, and 97 reviewers!**

**Special thanks go to Ai-kun, Treelow995, and Barbwire Heart! All of them have reviewed most if not all of my chapters! Thank you so much!**

**Thank you to all the people who are reading this story even if you are not reviewing! It makes me happy to know that I can write and people enjoy my work! Thank you so much!**

**Please leave a review for me! This chappy was long! A little over nine pages!**

**Thank you for reading!)**

**-WhisperToTheWolves**


	16. Chapter 13

Chapter Thirteen

A Family Reunion

**(Disclaimer: "YES YES! I own Ghost Hunt! I can do what ever I want now~!" *Phone rings and Whisper picks it up***

**WhAt!? What do you mean I don't own Ghost hunt?! *Talking through phone* Whisper sets down cell phone. "They told me I only own Masaya and Grey"….. T.T)**

* * *

Mai shifted her depressed eyes away from her boss. There, she said it. Tears leaked from her eyes and she tried frantically to wipe them away. The rest of the team stared at her with shocked eyes, especially Naru. His eyes were wider than they had ever been. He wasn't sure how much more Mai could take before she snapped. He let her think; hoping it would let her deal with her past.

Although Mai was staring at the house, her mind was somewhere else. Her eyes lost the light that she had received from her day with Naru. Mai tried as much as she could to forget the details of that day, but it seemed to come back to haunt her. No matter how much she tried to forget, the memories would not leave her.

She remembered the day she heard the news that her mother had died.

_^*^*FlAsHbAcK*^*^_

_Mai's eyes opened slowly as the white walls blinded her. She saw shifty people in white coats move past her quickly. She barely recalled the sharp pain that pinched her arm. The white figurine held up something to the bright lights above. It moved away as suddenly as it had come. She felt dizzy as she tried to sit up. A sharp pain ran throughout her torso and she gasped. Her noise caught the attention of the white blob. _

_The longer that Mai stayed awake, the more her vision seemed to return. Her eyes focused on a doctor with blond hair leaning over her. _

_"You shouldn't move, Honey." She whispered. She lifted her hand and smoothed back the frays of hair that escaped her head band. She looked down at Mai with tender eyes._

_"You are in critical health. If you move, the stitching that the doctors did will open up."_

_Mai nodded numbly. "How long have I been sleeping?" She murmured._

_The doctor gave her a weak smile. "Almost a week. We were worried you wouldn't wake up."_

_"You said you…"Mai murmured "Does that mean Mama is okay?"_

_The doctor continued quickly as if she hadn't heard Mai's question. "It sure scared us! Me and Ayako did all we could to get you to wake." She laughed. She glanced at Mai's bedside where her chart laid. "Lets see here…"_

_"Who is Ayako?" The eleven year old asked "She sounds really nice…" Mai laid her head on the pillow. Her eyes started to droop._

_The nurse lifted the chart of the table and read the contents below. "Oh Ayako? She's my daughter. She is only eighteen, but she has the amazing abilities as a doctor." She sighed "Unfortunately, she says she holds no interest in such things. She says she rather become a shrine maiden." She sighed again. "Once she decides something she will never change her mind."_

_Her eyes skimmed over the sheet of paper and she smiled at Mai. "Oh forgive me! I forgot to tell you my name. You can call me Dr. Matsuzaki."_

_Mai nodded. Her eyes were tired from staying open so long. She fought to keep them open. "Where is Okaa-san?"_

_Doctor Matsuzaki's smile fell and she looked at Mai with sorrow. She watched as Mai's eyes closed. She knew that if she was going to tell her she would have to make it quick._

_"I'm sorry." She leaned down and kissed the burnet on the forehead. "She passed away this afternoon."_

_Even though Mai's eyes were closed, she could not stop the tears that came. She wept until her eyes were dry. She knew this would be a day she would never forget._

_^*^*EnD fLaShBaCk*^*^_

Masako knew that Mai was in pain, but how much, she had no idea. Masako still had her parents. They both supported her and were very proud of her career, even if they weren't okay with it originally. Her brother had supported her the moment he discovered she had paranormal abilities.

However, while she didn't know how it felt to lose parents, she did know how it felt to lose a loved one. Her brother was proof enough.

Surprising herself and the rest of the team, she walked straight up to Mai and gave her a tight hug.

The unexpected proximity brought Mai out of her thoughts. Mai was surprised at the fact that Masako was showing physical affection. While she wasn't as touchy about it as Naru, she still gave off the vibe of 'don't touch me.'

Masako leaned toward Mai's ear and whispered.

"It's okay to be sad Mai; it is a sensitive subject for you. I can understand that. Let's get this over with so that we can go home."

Mai got over her shock and smiled softly. "Even though this was my home?"

Masako gave her a small smile. "Is it Mai? Is this your home?"

Mai closed her eyes and her tears dried up. "No. Not anymore."

* * *

Mai and Masako traveled the house. After there little moment outside, Masako had asked Naru if she could take Mai with her on her walk though throughout the house. Naru complied, and to himself he noted that Mai could take a break from setting up the equipment.

Mai was much happier then she had been when she saw the house. Even though she felt slightly guilty about admitting this house wasn't hers anymore, she felt okay walking around it. Every time she saw something, it would remind her of a little memory to go with it. The stair case that she climbed to check out the rooms, reminded her of when she broke her leg falling down them. The kitchen, where they had just walked into, reminded her of all the deserts she baked with her mother.

Mai looked for a teapot and tea bags as Masako leaned against the counter, eyes closed and kimono sleeve covering her face.

Mai let the tea steep as she waited for Masako's verdict of the house. Masako opened her eyes.

"There are two spirits here." Masako said slowly "One is male and one is female." Mai stared at her in surprise. Two spirits?

"One of them is very angry," Masako said "I can't tell which one, and the other one is sad. There presences keep drifting around the edges of my vision."

Mai nodded. She wasn't surprised. It was very common for mediums to not be able to sense some spirits. It would be a little insane if they could. What would have happened if Masako had visited her parent's grave? Would she have been able to see them? Mai placed the tea cups onto a tray and set out to find Grey. She had no idea what room the base would be held in. Masako followed after her. Hopefully they would find him before the tea got cold.

Mai walked out of the kitchen and almost ran into someone. She barely managed to stop the tea from spilling as she gazed up at the lucky person.

She had almost the same color hair as Mai, albeit a little darker. It reached past her shoulders in a layered and straight way. Her hazel eyes were soft and had a small shine to them. She wore an elegant purple kimono with navy blue flowers on it. It reached down to her feet which had small black sandals covering them. Mai blushed. She was lucky to be so pretty. Masako had to look the woman over quickly. She almost looked like Mai; the lady could have been her older sister.

Mai bowed as low as she could without spilling the tea. "H-hello."

The woman smiled back shyly, a little flattered by the respect.

"My name is Watanabe Sayuri. Your base is next to the master upstairs. My husband said you knew the way." She said quietly. Her cheeks were flushed a bright pink.

Mai laughed and Masako smiled. She was so cute. She acted like a little kid although she looked to be in her early twenties. The members of SPR, bowed simultaneously and Masako followed Mai up the stairs they had passed. Sayuri waved until they were out of her sights.

Mai and Masako trotted the steps slowly as Mai thought about what Masako said about the spirits. Maybe her parents weren't involved. Otou-san didn't have a connection to the house and if her Okaa-san was haunting the place, why hadn't the signs come earlier?

Mai walked down the hall on the second story. She located the master bedroom and opened the only door next to it. Naru, Lin, and John looked up at her as she entered the base. Masako walked quickly over to John and started a conversation while Mai gave out tea to everyone.

"Hara-san." Naru said "Have you been able to sense any paranormal beings within the house hold?"

Masako looked up from her conversation with John. She locked her gaze on Him. "Yes. One male and one female. One is angry and the other is sad. I can't tell which is which."

Naru nodded "Thank you Hara-san." Mai felt a blur of annoyance rise within her. He thanked Masako for her job, and he didn't thank her for doing something nice? Jerk. Mai sighed. He never was going to change was he?

"Oh Kazuya!" John spoke up. He noticed the flare in his friend's assistant and decided to intervene before it got to bad. "We have set all the monitors up; shall I set up all the cameras?"

Naru looked down at his tea cup. "Yes. Take Mai with you."

Mai huffed and grabbed the nearest camera. The men had hauled it up to the headquarters while Mai and Masako had made tea and done the walk around. She stormed out the door with an anxious priest trailing her.

"He is such a jerk! Geez! Why can't he be nicer to me?" She huffed John laughed nervously.

"Mai-san, this is Kazuya you are talking about. It's probably not in his nature." His accent made him stuttered over the Japanese words slightly. Mai released a glare in his direction and it made him shiver. She had to be learning from Naru. Maybe he was giving her secret lessons on the mastery of the skill 'death glare'….

Mai turned away from John and set up the camera. John didn't say anything relating to his thoughts. Mai and John set up the cameras until Mai stopped in front of one of the rooms. She held a hand to the door knob and ran her finger over the brand new wood. John watched as she slowly opened the door and entered.

The room was very small. It was very dusty, as if it had not been used in a long time. Mai walked deeper into the room and walked aroud.

"We will have to ask…." Murmured Mai.

John blinked "What are you talking about?"

Mai head snapped up. She rubbed the back of her head nervously She started setting up the camera so she would have an excuse to keep her eyes away from John. "Even though the house was rebuilt, this was my old room. For some reason, I feel it's important to ask about it. Although that could just be because I was close to it. Technically, it's not my real room…. The house was rebuilt after the fire consumed it." She sighed "Anyways I'm getting a bad feeling, lets go back to base." She stepped away from the set up camera and started walking to John from the other side of the room.

John nodded and grabbed the extra microphone sitting on the floor. He turned around to walk out the door, when something pushed him back and the door slammed shut. Mai rush to make sure John was alright before she held the door tightly and tried to budge it open.

"Its…. not …. WORKING!" She yelled.

Something buzzed from the camera. Mai was checking to make sure the camera was alright before it fell over. The lens came off and Mai winced. Naru would kill her for that.

John grabbed Mai by her elbow just in time to move her away from the spirits attack. Mai gasped and stared at the man. His light red hair was messed out stylishly on top of his head. His dark eyes flashed dangerously as his eyes flickered between her and John. His army suit was obviously the real deal. His hair made Mai want to say Watanabe-san. No it couldn't be…. Watanabe-san was still alive, unless he had a brother. He looks so familiar…. Why couldn't she place a finger on it?

John pushed Mai quickly out of the spirits next attack. He wasn't as quick as he thought though, because the spirit threw him against the wall and he fell at the bottom with a small thump. His head swirled faintly as he tried to get back his sense.

Mai was staring blankly at the ghost until it finally rang in her head that this ghost was dangerous. She immediately pulled her hand up in the position to do the nine cuts.

"Rin Pyo Tou-"

The slamming of the door shocked her and she dropped her guard. Again, the door slammed and Mai jumped in her skin. The spirit looked at the door with anger before glaring back at Mai.

"**She is not the only one here!"** He hissed angrily. The door burst open and the spirit disappeared from the room keeping his eyes on Mai the whole time he was doing so. Mai paled slightly and John groaned. Lin ran from the entrance of the room over to John and stared checking his pulse. Mai collapsed to the floor when she heard Lin say that he was alright. Thank god John was okay.

Naru walked quickly over to Mai and kneeled down next to her. He placed his hand on her shoulder and she looked up with a tired expression.

"How come we always get attacked?" She sighed. Naru rolled his eyes.

"Do you really want me to answer that question?"

Mai scowled and stood up. She scowled at the very obvious dirt on her black shirt. Her attention was brought back to John as Lin helped him up. She quickly walked over to him and gazed at him worriedly. John noticed her face and gave a weak smile.

"I'll be okay." Mai gave a nod and backed up. Lin placed John's arm over his shoulder and they left the room. Mai turned back to Naru as a thought pooped into her head.

"Hey…. How did you know me and John were being attacked?"

Naru sent her a look of disbelief before he pointed at the camera. Mai flushed and looked away. "Yea…. Sorry about that."

Naru rolled his eyes and walked out of the room waving Mai along. "Insurance Mai. Insurance." Mai huffed. Still a jerk.

"One more thing." He said "Do you know the ghost? Was it someone you recognized?"

Mai frowned "No…. but he seems really familiar. He reminded me of Watanabe-san."

Naru raised an eyebrow. "He looked similar to you."

Mai blinked and pulled out her wallet. She had to check. It was very possible, but she hoped that it wasn't so.

He was wearing an Army suit….. Mai paled as she came across the picture of her mother, and her father holding a two year version of her. The mad was the ghost. She hadn't been able to recognized him because it had been so long.

"I think its Otou-san." She whispered. Naru had to strain his ears to hear her. He sighed and grabbed a hold of her wrist.

"Don't over think it. It might hurt what's left of your brain. Come on, let's go back to base."

* * *

** (An: I'm so sorry that this is shorter than normal! :( Its only five pages…..**

**Hey everyone! Now that we know who Mai parents are (Sort of) Take a look at my one shot. It's titled 'Family'. It deals with Mai thoughts. Go take a look! I would like to thank Treelow955, ReiveVonBielefeld, and Musical Teardrops for reviewing it! :)**

**Please leave me a review! How is this case progressing so far? Thanks for reading!)**

**-WhisperToTheWolves **


	17. Chapter 14

Chapter Fourteen

A Question for the Confused

* * *

The silence in the base was so tense you could cut it with a knife. Mai sat on the couch twiddling her thumbs with Masako at her side. John was standing next to Lin watching the monitors. Naru was going over the notes that Mai had written from the case interview. He sat in a metal chair across from the couch facing Mai and Masako. The incidents didn't look like something an angry ghost would do, aside from dragging Sayuri out of bed. Unless of course, he did all those things in life. Only one way to get the answers.

Naru sat up and gave Mai a sharp look. She stopped messing with her fingers and looked back at him nervously.

"John and Hara-san," he said "I need you to go replace the camera in the room the ghost attacked. Lin, go and talk to Watanabe-san about the incidents she had."

Lin was surprised for a minute before he smirked inside. If he wanted to be alone with Mai, he could have just said so. He stood up from his chair and left the room.

Masako and John both looked at each other and then at Naru. "Sure." They both said. Before leaving, Masako gave Mai a worried look by the door. She gave a small smile of encouragement and left the room.

The tension in the room increased ten fold once everyone else was gone. Mai didn't even know why it was so awkward. There was no reason.

"Mai," Naru stated. "What was your father like?"

Mai blinked at the sudden question. "Umm…. I remember that he was very happy all the time. I didn't recognize him earlier because I had never seen him angry before." She paused and gathered as many memories as she could. "He loved me and Okaa-san a lot. Before he left, we would go on picnics or to the movies." She smiled softly. "He was a very kind person. I almost don't believe that the man I saw today was him. On the other hand, he died when I was really young so I could be wrong."

Naru nodded. He had to take in the facts that this information was inaccurate. They would be possible evidence, but he couldn't rely on the completely.

"Is this the same house that you grew up with?" He asked. Mai blinked. What a topic change….

"No, the house was burned completely to the ground when mom died. They rebuilt the house in the same design though. Although," She looked out the open window. "The Sakura Tree is still alive. It didn't get caught in the blaze."

Naru's gaze flickered toward Mai's before he looked at the mentioned tree. It was in full bloom with its large branches spreading over the yard. From where Mai couldn't see, he smiled.

Naru had been quiet for a while. It wasn't an awkward silence, it was just comforting. Mai watched Naru's face flicker for a moment, before it resumed its normal mask. Mai frowned. What was wrong with the tree?

"Hmm." Mai hummed.

At the noise Naru turned to look at her. He raised an eyebrow as she continued to speak.

"Did you know that there has never been a day that this tree was not blooming?"

Naru's eyebrows decided to recede into his hairline. It was always blooming?

"The tree," Mai said "has been here since before we moved in. I would always hang out there and read a book. Sometimes I would climb the tree to get away from my parents." She laughed

"I thought that you said your parents never got mad?" Naru interjected.

Mai ticked. "No~! I said that Otou-san was never angry. I never said anything about mama."

Naru rolled his eyes. "I know that Mai. Anyways, why would you run from your mom?"

Mai smirked "She couldn't climb the tree and I would go really high. She was always trying to make me do chores and dress in really girly clothes." Mai shuddered "Especially pink clothes."

Naru frowned. She has worn pink before. "I've seen you wear pink tank tops to work. Why would you wear it if you hate it so much?"

Mai chuckled nervously and rubbed the back of her head. "Michiru and Keiko bought them for me. I only wear them to make them happy. They think I look good in pink." Mai paled and shuddered at the word. "Mama once made me try on a pink frilly dress. I almost died."

Naru rolled his eyes. "You wouldn't have died Mai. Its just clothing."

"Okay right." She said sarcastically. "If colors won't kill you, then why don't you wear any different colors?"

Naru gave her a straight face. "One: for Gene." Mai gave him a sympathetic look and he moved on. "Also….. It's his favorite color."

Mai sighed and rolled her eyes. "It's his favorite color Naru, not yours." She paused "What is YOUR Favorite color?"

Naru looked down at his notebook. Mai thought he wasn't going to answer until a small voice spoke.

"My favorite color is grey."

Mai brightened. "See that wasn't so hard!" She thought about it for a minute and imagined him wearing a grey shirt. It would set off his eyes….

"Mai." Naru stated. "If you are going to stare off into space, at least answer my question before you do."

Mai snapped back to reality with a jolt. "Sorry what was that?"

Naru sighed "At least pay attention Mai. I said 'What is your favorite color?'"

"Oh." Mai looked at him suspiciously "My favorite color is emerald green. I thought you already knew that. Monk, Ayako, and I were having a big argument on it the last case."

Naru scoffed. "You expect me to remember all of the conversations you have. Also, there are a lot of conversations that you have with Matsuzaki-san."

Mai flushed "Well sorry! Jeez!" She puffed and sat more deeply against the couch.

Mai suddenly realized that the conversation that they were having was nothing related to the one that they were having earlier.

"Hey Naru," She said "Why did you ask me about my dad in the first place?"

Naru shifted awkwardly. "There is a possibility that that man was your father. If he is, we need to know as much as we can." Naru didn't say what was really on his mind. He wouldn't be able to tell her the truth. She loved Gene not him. It wasn't possible.

Mai took in a deep breath. "Then why did you send the others out of the room?"

Naru froze and didn't answer. His body was locked and his jaw was tense. Mai relinquished her gaze off of Naru and watched the sakura tree. That was it huh? No other explanation? Mai sighed. She should have known.

Naru watched Mai with sad eyes. She looked upset and he hated the fact that it was probably because of something he did. He was such a fool. Mai gazed at him for a moment before flinching. She watched the tree sway with the wind. A figure was staring at the tree…. It glanced at Mai and she froze. The darkened figure frowned and vanished into thin air.

Naru watched as Mai froze. He followed her gaze just in time to see a shadow vanish. What was that?!

Mai relaxed. It must have been a shadow and a trick of the light. It must have been later than she thought…. She glanced at the clock and froze as she saw that it was only eleven o'clock. It was too dark for shadows. It also looked too human to be a shadow of the tree. She turned to Naru with wide eyes as he studied the tree through the window.

"Please tell me you saw that!" She squeaked.

Naru gave a hard nod and turned to Mai with a serious expression. "You are never to be alone on this case. I will escort you myself if necessary."

Mai's worried face turned annoyed. "Even to get your tea?! What if I have to use the bathroom?!"

Naru rolled his eyes. "I won't go inside obviously idiot." Mai glared at him.

"Mai listen to me. This is very important. I don't want you to be dragged off like Hara-san was on the last case." Mai flushed at the word 'I'. "Stay with someone at all cost." Mai nodded numbly. That would be bad. If it was her parents haunting this place, there was no doubt that would drag Mai off first. Mai's eyes began to tear and she tried to turn away from Naru before he saw. Unfortunately, Naru was observant and noticed the whole thing. Before Mai even knew he had moved, he stood behind the couch and laid a hand on her shoulder.

Mai jumped at the hand on her shoulder. She looked up and the tears dribbled down her face with the motion. Naru sighed and pulled out his handkerchief. He wiped the tears away and Mai sniffled. Why was he so nice to her?

"It's okay to cry Mai." Naru murmured. "It's healthy. It shows you are human. It shows you care."

Mai sniffled and the tears continued to fall. She barely could see out of her eyes. Naru continued to wipe her face. His arm started to ach, so he walked around the couch and sat down next to her. He placed the handkerchief back in his pocket and pulled a new one out.

Mai tears eventually began to slow. Naru wiped at her face one more time before butting his cloth away for Mai for another time. It was a good idea to bring it after all.

Mai pulled her feet up into the couch and rested her head on her knees. Naru sat by patiently waiting before he decided it was a good time to speak.

"What did I do this time? I apologize if it was for not considering your feelings."

Mai blinked and looked up at his face. "What crack have you been smoking? You had nothing to do with it."

This time it was Naru's turn to blink. "I thought I said something wrong."

Mai shook her head. "No baka! I was thinking about my parents." She smiled bitterly "I would have to been the first one they would come after."

Naru blinked. Holy crap. He raised a hand to his chin "Mai I think you've got something there."

"What do you mean?"

He stood up from the couch and made his way back to the monitors. "I heard from Lin that Watanabe-san looks a lot like you."

Mai raised an eyebrow "What about it? How would that have anything to do with it?"

Naru gave her a hard stare. "What if your parents are here? What if they think that YOU are Watanabe-san? It would explain why nobody else was targeted."

Mai paled and she was glad that she was not standing up. Her knees would haven given way immediately. "Why didn't I think of that before?" She whispered "It so obvious. Masako even told me that she could have been my older sister."

Naru sighed deeply "Don't worry yourself about it. Nobody thought of it."

Mai nodded numbly. This was all her fault.

"Don't even think that!" Naru snapped "It is not your fault!"

Mai jumped. Had she said that out loud?

Naru smirked slightly "No you didn't say that out loud." Mai tilted her head in confusion. How did he know?

Naru sighed and waved his hand all knowingly. "As I said before. First you get mad, then depressed, then you bounce back quickly."

Mai blushed brightly. He remembered that? His exact words? That had been over a year ago, before he had left and come back from England.

"Anyways," Naru said. His posture straightened slightly and Mai knew that he was in work mode again. "When Lin comes back, we will discuss our theory with him."

Mai nodded and looked away from him awkwardly. She twirled her thumbs nervously.

"Um…. Want some tea?"

When Mai turned back to Naru, his body was already in the chair next to a computer. He turned to her and gave her a stiff nod.

Mai jumped off the couch and skipped to the door. She opened it and stood next to it.

"By the way, Naru?" Naru turned to meet her gaze. She gave a smirk. "What you said about crying….. It's okay to cry. It's healthy. It shows you are human. It shows you care." Naru stared at her with wide eyes.

At this exact moment, Masako came back from looking around with John. By the feel in the room and the expression on Naru's face, she got the feeling something had just happened.

Mai grabbed her by the elbow and began to drag her out of the room. "Come on Masako! We are going to make some tea~!"

"But Mai! We made tea a little while ag-" She gasped as the swift pull brought her out of the base. Whether she liked it or not. She was not able to deny Mai what she wanted.

Naru stared at the place the two ladies had stood. She said the same thing that he said to her. What did that mean? The one thing that stood out from all the rest was what made him pause and stare.

HAD SHE JUST STOLEN HIS EPIC WORDS!?

* * *

**(An: And that is the end of this chapter! Hope you like it! Btw, I have perfect excuses to why I have not updated sooner…**

**One: I had to go to an interview for my highschool and I have been preparing for it. I thought I did okay. Hopefully I will get accepted. **

**Two: Since school started I have been having major tests. Urg they suck. -_-**

**Alright one more thing before I let you go… I'm going dog sledding this weekend, so I'm not sure when I will be able to update. I'll try my best! **

**Thanks for listening to my boring speech. Leave a review on the chapter?**

**-WhisperToTheWolves**


	18. Chapter 15

Chapter Fifteen

Thoughts Around the Sakura Tree

**(Disclamier: I don't own Ghost Hunt.)**

* * *

Lin sighed as he shut the door to the base. He walked around the hallways vaguely searching for Sayuri. Noll, despite being a scientist, was very oblivious to his thoughts about Mai. He should have added all the clues together.

Madoka had told Lin that he was a very oblivious person to relationships. When Lin saw that the two liked each other, he thought they would get together. Instead they both sat and thought the other person loved someone else. Lin declared them both idiots. Madoka agreed with him.

Lin ran a hand through his hair as his foot steps echoed throughout the hall. When the team had first arrived, Mai had said something about her mother dying in this house. No doubt Naru was probably talking to her about that.

Lin had walked around the house for at least half an hour. Either Sayuri was not here, or she was hiding for him. He was about to look in the backyard when a noise from inside made him turn around. The loud thud was in the direction he had just come. He sighed knowing that it most likely was Mai. He turned around and walked back up the steps to the house. He continued his search around the house.

Lin turned the corner of the hall and swerved out of the way to avoid getting hit by the passing person. Sayuri Watanabe squeaked and bowed to Lin. When she stood straight again, she apologized. Lin bowed back.

"It is no trouble." Lin said formerly

Sayuri smiled gently and raised the end of her kimono to nervously cover her mouth.

"I-is there something that you need? I was just heading to find one of you. Lunch will be in one hour."

Lin nodded. That would explain why he couldn't find her. She was moving around the whole house. "My boss sent me to find you. He would like to speak with you personally."

Sayuri smiled and motioned for him to lead the way. "Of course."

Lin turned around without answering her headed the way that he had come.

Lin opened the door to see John engaged in a conversation. Naru spoke back to him with a shake of his head. John sighed and rubbed the back of his head.

Lin cleared his throat and gestured to the woman next to him. "This is Watanabe Sayuri."

Naru gave a nod. "Please take a seat."

The woman complied and sat down on the couch. Naru glanced at her for a moment and tried to see if there was indeed a resemblance to Mai. Her hair was slightly darker and her eyes were a different color. If she was not wearing a kimono, Naru would have thought that she would be related to Mai.

Sayuri rubbed her hands together nervously. Her fingers intertwined over and over again. When she couldn't move them together more, she released her hands and started over again.

"Relax, Watanabe-san" Naru said "I just have some questions for you. They are simple and not hard to answer."

Sayuri smiled nervously. "O-okay."

Naru walked over to the couch and sat on the other side. He opened his black notebook and flipped to a certain page.

"Lets get this started then. What was the first thing that happened to you, and how soon after you moved in?"

Sayuri crossed her arms and thought for a moment. "The first thing that happened….. was a week after we moved in. The light in my bedroom flicked off while I was reading a book. At first I thought it was a power outage. I went to turn on the light and it flipped on without a hitch. I went back to bed and continued reading my book. A few seconds later it was turned off. At this point it was getting weird. I was going to turn it on again, but then my sheet moved. It was laid over me as if someone placed it over me. The sheets covered themselves around me. Something took my flashlight from my drawer and soft whispering is heard. I can never tell what it says. The being will slam the door. I didn't get out of bed to turn on the light again. I told my husband when what happened when he came back from his business trip in the morning."

Naru nodded. "What was the most dangerous thing that has happened to you?"

Sayuri took a deep breath. "After I told my husband what happened, he didn't believe me. He said that I must have left my window open. That night we went to bed. I woke up very late. He had already left for work. My door was slammed open and something wrapped around my ankle. It yanked me out of bed and dragged me down the stairs. I'm lucky that the stairs were carpeted." She shook her head. "However, it dragged me to the kitchen and dropped me. I still have the marks on my body." Naru eyes darkened. This was more serious than he thought. Grey had only told him that she had been pulled out of bed.

"Watanabe-san told me that there has been writing on the walls. Can you please explain what he meant by that?"

Sayuri uncrossed her arms and placed them over each other in her lap. At this point, Mai and Masako walked into base each carrying a tray of tea. Mai paused by the door and analyzed the situation. She and Masako handed everyone their tea. Mai placed her cup in front of Sayuri. Without a word, she took her seat next to Naru and focused herself on the client.

"Sometimes in the master bedroom, there will be different messages on the walls. Some are carved while others are drawn in a material we can't recognize. They say 'I'm sorry, you left me, or 'I'm glad that you are alive.' One time we saw 'forgive me'."

Naru nodded and wrote them in his notebook. Mai committed them to memory. They would no doubt be important later.

"Thank you Watanabe-san."

Sayuri smiled and stood up. "Your welcome. Lunch will be ready in one hour. I will give you a five minute warning when the time comes."

Mai smiled. "Thank you Watanabe-san."

Sayuri smiled and left the room.

"Now that everyone is in the room, I have a theory to discuss with you." Naru said.

* * *

"So mate, you think that Mai's father is haunting this place?" John said tilting his head to the side.

Naru nodded "Mai has identified that the ghost that attacked you and her is her father."

Lin furrowed his eyebrows and turned to Mai. "On the Urado case, you told us that you were little when your father died. How do you still remember him to tell what he looks like?"

Mai gave a pained expression and Lin immediately wished he hadn't asked. Mai reached into her black pants pocket and pulled out her wallet. She opened her eyes and looked through it until she stopped on a picture. She pulled it out and tossed it like a frisbee toward Lin. Lin caught it with ease and looked at it. In the picture a younger Mai and two people stood. The adults were smiling and the man was the ghost that they were looking for. Mai looked away from Lin as Masako and John leaned over his shoulder. Everyone was silent as Lin handed the picture to Naru. Naru studied it briefly for a minute before handing it back to Mai. She placed it back into her wallet without another word.

Masako and John knew that Mai was close to her family despite how nonchalant she had acted when she told then she was an orphan. John could tell because he was good and figuring out when people were lying. Masako knew because there was no way that Mai would be serious to something as important as family.

"I understand." Lin whispered. Masako and John nodded in agreement. Where the rest couldn't see, Naru stared at Mai with understanding. She smiled weakly leaving the rest of the group (besides Naru) wondering why she was smiling.

"Anyways," Mai sighed "Shouldn't we be finding a way to-"

The base door opened and Sayuri stepped inside. "Lunch will be ready in five minutes." She said shyly. Mai gave her a smile and completely forgot what she was going to say. "Thank you Watanabe-san."

Sayuri smiled and left the room.

Mai stood up and stretched. Staying on the couch during Naru speech hurt her back. She gave the team a smile and cheered. "Lets get lunch~!"

Naru sighed as his assistant marched out of the room. At some points she would be depressed and at other points she would be hyper for random reasons. Mai Taniyama was defiantly weird.

Everyone sat down at the table and ate the lunch in silence. They had discovered a lot of information in just a few short hours. They learned that the ghost was Mai's father. They had one more ghost to figure out. After all, Masako had said that there was one male spirit and one female spirit. Mai was confident that it wasn't her mother. Her mom left the world saving her child. Why would she have any regrets?

Even if her mom wasn't the ghost, Mai couldn't get the thought that something was missing. Who was this other ghost? Someone else from her past? Someone her father had met in the army? A random ghost who got caught?

Mai thought to herself as the rest of the group gave her weird looks. Unknown to her, she kept talking out loud. The words didn't make sense if you put them together. Lin sighed. Noll would never do something like this. Mai would. They were total opposites. They were perfect for each other. He vaguely pondered calling Madoka and telling her that things were not going along as planned.

When everyone finished lunch, Naru dismissed them to go to their rooms. They had been working the whole time and hand not had the chance to unpack. Mai didn't feel like unpacking. It would take to long. Instead she chose to wander around the house that she used to know. The memories eventually led her to the blooming Sakura tree in the yard. She let her body lead her to the tree she was so fond of.

Mai smirked as she touched the trunk of the tree. The times that her mother chased her to this location filled her mind. The pink frilly dress, the chores, the meetings with teachers. Mai shuddered at the thoughts, especially the first one. Her mother always insisted that since she was girl, she should wear pink. All the time.

Her hand moved up the trunk to the branch she used to use to get into the tree. Without another thought, she jumped on the branch and climbed higher. She was about twenty feet from the ground when she stopped. She looked down at the ground impressed with the fact that she was still able to climb the tree she had know all her life. She settled with her back against the tree. Maybe she should wear pants more often. Skirts hadn't allowed her to do these kind of things. She pondered the idea as her mind slowly shut down. She closed her eyes and allowed sleep to over come her.

* * *

Naru sighed as he put the last of his clothing in his drawer. He had stayed in the base as he told the others to go unpack. After all, some one had to watch the monitors. It took everyone one hour to unpack. He didn't take as long, of course.

He stood up and walked back to the base. He could probably fit in a couple more hours of work before going to bed. It was only about one anyway. To early to go to bed. He opened the door and gave a thank you nod to Lin who was watching the monitors. Masako and John were having a quiet conversation on the couch. Mai wasn't in the base yet. Naru would have sighed if it wasn't out of his character. Mai had to be the last one, hadn't she?

Naru sat down next to the other computer and intended to do some research, when Lin turned to him.

"Have you seen Taniayam-san at all since you dismissed us? No one else has seen her."

Naru rolled his eyes. "She is probably just taking longer than usual. She is Mai."

Lin nodded. "That is what I thought. However, when I asked Hara-san if she saw Taniyama-san, She said that Taniyama-san hadn't gone into there room at all."

Naru waved his hand is dismissal. "Mai is probably just wandering."

Lin nodded again. He couldn't shake of the uneasiness that was growing inside him. He shoved it into the back of his mind. He buried himself in work to keep himself from thinking. Nothing was going to happen to Mai.

* * *

Mai sat up with a start and almost fell out of the tree. She gripped the trunk to keep herself from falling. When she stopped shifting, she removed her hands. The sun had started to set and she guessed it was about six thirty. She must have fallen asleep. She yawned and stretched her arms.

She was going to climb out of the tree and head back to base, when she saw something watching her from the bottom of the tree. She froze and jumped back more firmly to the branch she had slept on. She hugged the trunk of the tree and watched in horror as the figure slowly reached a hand up toward Mai. She frantically removed her gaze from the figure and looked up for a higher branch. The figure tried to reach higher and Mai could have sworn there was a frown on its face. Mai breathes came in frantic gasps as she leaned as far away from the shadow as she could.

Suddenly the figure stopped. Its hand slowly retracted and it laid by its side. Mai watched as it disappeared.

"Mai! Are you out here?" Called a voice

Mai was too frightened to say anything. She couldn't even tell whose voice had called her. She vaguely thought John, but she wasn't sure. Tears streamed down her face and her breathes became hiccups. Foot steps retreated back into the house.

Mai shivered as her wet cheeks were chilled by the cold air. She wrapped her body into a ball and slowly rocked back and forth. She calmed herself as she watched her surroundings, making sure the apparition was not back.

Meanwhile she scolded herself for not driving the spirit away. Why hadn't she driven the sprit away using the mantra Monk had taught her? She could have also used the nine cuts Ayako had told her. But she didn't. Instead she just watched it as the spirit got closer to her. She was pathetic. After making sure one last time the thing was gone, she rested her head on her knees and closed her eyes.

Was that her dad? Why was he here? He had no reason to be. Mai remembered all the nice and wonderful things that he had done with her when she was a kid. The carnival…. The picnic. The memories were painful, but she would have to live with it. He was never coming back. Neither was she.

"Mai!"

Mai jumped and her head flew off knees. She looked for the source of the voice. She was relieved when she saw an out of breath Naru running toward her. He took several deep breathes and leaned forward slightly. Mai dried the residue of her tears so that he wouldn't see.

When Naru had caught his breath he looked up at her.

"What are you doing? The whole team has been looking for you for hours. It's pasted seven thirty!"

Mai winced. "Sorry…. I fell asleep. When I woke up, the figure that we saw earlier was where you are now."

Naru sighed and rubbed his temple in a calming way. "You shouldn't be out here. You said so yourself. The apparition was here a little while ago and you came back?"

Mai gave him a glare "Well I'm sorry! Not all of us can be geniuses!"

Naru gave her a wearied look. "I didn't expect you to be a genius. I just thought you knew that."

Mai flinched and looked deeper into the tree. "Yea yea."

Suddenly a thought popped into her head. "Hey Naru can I ask you a question?"

Naru gave her a look. Mai imagained that if it was in his character, he would have said, 'Didn't give me a choice there did you sunshine?'

"What is it Mai?"

"What's your IQ?"

Naru blinked. "164."

Mai whistled "Wow that's a lot. Mines about 120."

Naru paused. "That's not bad…."

"Was that a compliment Naru?" Mai smirked

Naru glared. "For someone like you." He continued.

Mai pouted. "JERK!"

She sighed. A look of curiosity crossed her face as she stared at his annoyed one. "Hey Naru have you even been to a carnival?"

Naru nodded. "On my fifteenth birthday, Gene dragged me by the arm the whole way."

"Oh." Mai said. "I did too. Otou-san took me when I was really little. I don't remember it much, so I think I was around three. Afterward we had a huge picnic with Mama."

Naru didn't say anything for a few minutes. "Was it fun?"

Mai blinked "What do you mean? Wouldn't you know? You just said you went to a carnival."

Naru placed his hands in his pockets nervously. "I meant the picnic. I've never been."

"That's really surprising." Mai said "I thought Gene would have forced you to do something like that."

Naru shrugged. "I don't know."

"Just out of curiosity, have you ever had a major fight with anyone?"

Naru nodded. "With Gene."

"What about?"

Naru hesitated. He never talked about this with anyone before. Madoka and Lin and tried to get it out of him, but he just ignored them. He wanted to tell Mai, but he was worried about what she was going to say.

"It was when," He shifted "Gene came to Japan."

Mai's eyes widened. This was a sensitive subject. That's it. She wasn't asking anymore questions. "Sorry," She stumbled over her words. "You don't have to tell."

Naru shook his head. "Its alright. It was when Gene was coming to Japan. I didn't want him to come to Japan by himself. He was notorious for getting himself lost. I wanted Lin to go with him, but he said that he would be fine by himself. We got into a big argument about it."

"Was it ever resolved?" Mai asked quietly.

Naru shook his head. "When we talk in mirrors, we never really speak about it."

Mai frowned. "If you want, I can tell him what you said."

To any normal person, Naru would have looked impassive. However, Mai could see that he was grateful for her offer.

"That would be nice."

Mai smiled. "Since I am going to talk to him, do you want me to tell him anything else?"

Naru paused and then smirked. It made Mai feel very nervous. "Tell him this. I'm sorry, but even if the bird is blind I will not take the shoot."

Mai stared at him bewildered. He wanted her to tell his dead brother about a bird. Wow, Naru really was unpredictable.

"O-okay," She said "If that's what you really want…."

Naru nodded. "Now that that is settled, why don't you come down from that tree." He looked around "The ghost is nowhere in sight."

Mai sighed "Hai Hai." She slowly started edging toward the base of the tree. Several times she almost tripped and fell. She regained her balance at the last minute and hung fast. When she was sure that she wasn't going to fall, she moved again.

The last branch was a five foot jump. Naru wondered how she had managed to get into the tree in the first place. Mai swung her legs over the edge of the branch and steadied herself. A faint splintering sound was heard and both of the teens froze. The branch snapped and Mai fell. She closed her eyes as she fell hard.

Naru grunted and Mai's eyes flew open. She was less then two inches away from Naru. Her head was just below his chin .His sapphire eyes pierced hers in a holding gaze. Naru breathed a sigh of relief.

"I recommend you look before you go climbing trees again. For now though, I recommend you go to bed."

Naru placed her on her feet and she blushed heavily. With a small okay, she shot off toward the house like a bullet out of a gun. Naru sighed and ran a hand through his stylishly messy hair.

"What has she done to me?" He murmured incoherently.

* * *

Mai raced into bed with record speed. Masako gave her a look of shock.

"Mai! Where have you been? We have been looking for you for hours."

Mai mumbled and ignored her. Masako sighed and turned off the light. Mai watched the fan as it turned in the ceiling above them. Now matter how hard she tried she couldn't get Naru's rescue act out of her head. She had been so close to kissing him….

Masako's words from the last case raced back into her mind.

_^*^*FlAsHbAcK*^*^_

_"Hey Masako?" Mai asked after a minute Masako said something._

_"I'm giving up on Naru." Masako blurted_

_The statement shocked Mai so much she sat up in the king sized bed they were laying in._

_"What? Masako are you sick or something?" _

_Mai felt Masako shift restlessly. "There is no point. He is in love with someone else."_

_Mai felt her heart drop. Naru was in love with someone? _

_Masako watched as Mai's face dropped. She had no idea. If she payed attention she might figure t out she supposed. For now, Masako would let the chips fall where they may. She was asleep in less than thirty seconds._

_^*^*EnD fLaShBaCk*^*^_

Mai blinked and wiped away her tears. She knew it would never happen. Luck and fate was never on her side. Even if she had kissed him, it wouldn't mean anything.

After all, he was in love with someone else.

* * *

**(An: This is the end of the chapter! Leave me a review and tell me how I did! ^v^**

**This story has over 8,500 views! That makes me so happy! Thank you all for sticking with the story! Love all my readers, even if they are silent ones!**

**I would like to thank the following people for there review last chapter!**

**KawaiixKawaii, ShinigamiinPeru, BrokenBlackCat, RieveVonBielefeld, p. ageha, Musical Teardrops, Treelow955, xiaoj and finally a guest reviewer. Thank you all so very very very much! I love all of your reviews! If you are the guest reviewer that reviewed, (Does that sound weird?) Leave your name and I will be able to thank you properly. **

**Thanks for the reviews. :D I hope you all continue to read my story! Without you it would have stopped a long time ago!**

**Also, I would like to mention one more thing before I go. I think some of you are fustrated by Nru and Mai not being together already. Call it writers intuition. ;) I will get them together. I'm trying to make sense and stuff and I think that you will be happy when I do. Thats all!)**

**-WhisperToTheWolves**


	19. Chapter 16

Chapter Sixteen

Something She Didn't Want to See

_The white lights of the astral plane danced around Mai's vision. She slowly sat up on the non-visible ground and rubbed her eyes. Glancing around, she looked for Gene. She sighed when she found the black void empty. Mai stood up and brushed off imaginary dirt from her pants. _

_"Mai Wait!" _

_Mai turned around almost to hit Eugene Davis in the face. Gene took a few steps back and rubbed his head. _

_"Sorry about that. I didn't mean for it to take so long. You just called me unexpectedly." _

_Mai raised and eyebrow. "I called you? When? I don't remember doing anything like that." _

_Gene stared at her confused. "What are you talking about Mai? I remember it clearly. You were calling my name and telling me to meet me on the astral plane." _

_Mai shook her head. "Nope. You're going insane. That's the only thing I'm telling you. _

_Gene rolled his eyes. "Whatever. Anyways you have something to tell me?"_

_Mai smiled slyly and smirked. "Maybe I do."_

_Gene glared fiercely for a moment before changing into a playful pout. For a moment, Mai thought he looked exactly like Naru. "Hurry up party pooper." He stuck out his tongue._

_Just like he predicted, Mai laughed. "Alright alright! It's a message from your brother."_

_Gene's curiosity quirked and Mai smiled. "He said 'I'm sorry, but even if the bird is blind, I will not take the shot.'"_

_Gene paused for a minute before he exploded with laughter. He fell to the invisible floor and clutched his side. Tears streamed down his face. Mai face palmed to herself before giving him an irritated glace. "Let me guess, inside joke?" _

_Gene sat on the floor and rested his weight on his palm. "You bet! Tell him that I said 'The rifle is loaded and ready.'"_

_Mai growled. "Will you explain what you are talking about? It doesn't make sense! Did you two go hunting as a kid or something?!"_

_Gene smirked. "I'm not telling you~!" Gene smirked became wider as Mai glared at him and sulked to herself. _

_What Mai had no idea was that the words were talking about her and Naru. Naru was the hunter and Mai was the blind bird. It was talking about there relation ship. Mai was a singing, blind bird not knowing a hunter was below her. Naru (the hunter) wasn't willing to risk going that far. He didn't want to tell Mai that he cared for her. He believed that Mai was in love with him and he wasn't going to confess to her. Gene almost sighed at both of there stupidity. Luckily he didn't it would have made Mai suspicious. _

_Mai sat down and crossed her legs. Gene moved to sit in front of her. He could tell that her expression was fake because her eyes were holding back her smile. _

_"Mai there is another thing that I have to show you before I can let you wake up. A vision you aren't going to like. If you couldn't handle it, I wouldn't show you. This is important. Especially the end."_

_Mai closed her eyes and lay back as Gene placed a hand over her eyes and concentrated. The vision came back to him and he guided Mai into it. Once she was in, she had to make her own path. Gene only guided Mai. He could do nothing more._

* * *

Naru rubbed his eyes. It was past ten at night and he was planning on going to bed. Lin was taking a small nap. When he woke up, Lin would watch till morning and Naru would go to bed.

The whole time that Naru was watching the monitors was torture. He kept replaying Mai's fall over and over in his head. The terror on her face frightened him and he hoped he would never have to see it again. Judging from their line of work though, he would.

When Naru had caught Mai, he didn't even pause. He could only think one thing. Not her. He caught her in his arms and he was surprised at how light she was. She couldn't have weighed over one hundred. Some of the equipment was heavier than she was.

Her bright red face made him warm from some unknown reason. He could tell she was embarrassed, so he put her down and told her to go to bed. His body still tingled slightly from where she had touched him. Naru rubbed his arms and sighed. He knew that would stay there for a while.

He looked under the sleeve of his black shirt. The watch read ten eighteen. He sighed and opened up the folder Yasu had sent from his home. While the teenager hadn't been able to come, he still helped in every way that he could. Osamu Yasuhara was very reliable.

Inside the folder was an article Yasuhara had photo copied form a local magazine. Even though Naru had already known the information that was presented, it would be helpful when the case was filed later on. He sighed and read the article again.

**Last weekend on July second, a younger girl and her mother were caught inside their burning home. The ambulance and firefighters arrived minutes afterward. The mother Amaya Nakamura threw her daughter out the window to save her life. The daughter (Mai Taniyama) was rushed to the hospital immediately. Firefighters rushed in to save Nakamura-san. She did not survive. The smoke from the fire caused her to suffocate. Later it was learned that Nakamura-san had an injured foot and could not walk well. The fire had started in the kitchen and had spread into the living room and up the stairs. Everything in the house was destroyed and the house collapsed. **

**Mai Taniyama had surgery done on her back and is in the ICU. The doctors are shocked that she recovered from such an injury. A piece of metal was lodged deep into her left shoulder and coming dangerously close to her heart. Doctor Matsuzaki claims "This is the most shocking thing I have ever seen in my fifteen years as a doctor. Taniyama-san will make a full recovery."**

**We have not gotten any quotes from the victim herself **

**A funeral will be held next Saturday for the deceased mother. Taniyama will live with a friend of her mothers until further notice.**

**-Anonymous**

Naru pinched the bridge of his nose. Just by looking at Mai, you never would have guessed that she had been through all of this. She had a cheerful outlook on life. Now the question that bugged him was, why?

Naru sighed. That would be a question that he wouldn't be able to answer unless he talked to her himself.

Lin walked quietly into the base room and Naru relaxed. Finally. The Chinese man almost smirked at his charge's relief. Lin hadn't actually gone to bed; he stayed up and talked to Madoka. He was going to regret that when he started watching the monitors.

Naru stood and stretched. He closed the folder and said good night to Lin. He dressed in his night clothes and glanced curiously to see that Lin's bed was made. Normally Lin didn't make his bed. Naru shrugged it off and got into the bed he was given.

He had just closed his eyes when the thought about seeing his brother appeared. He shoved the thought away and closed his eyes. The thought continued to nag him. A low buzz in the back of his mind alerted him that Gene wanted to talk to him. He growled to himself and left the warm comfort of the sheets. He stormed out of the room and into the bathroom. He flipped on the light roughly and glared at the mirror. Gene appeared almost instantly.

"What do you want Gene? I'm trying to sleep."

Gene looked worried "You need to go to Mai, Wake her up now!"

Naru frowned and stiffed a yawn. "Why?"

Gene growled at him. "I led her into a dream! I just figured out she can't handle it! GO!"

Naru rolled his eyes but walked out of the bathroom. He turned down the corridor and Gene disappeared from the mirror.

"KYAAAAA!"

Naru instantly picked up his speed. He almost ran to the room. He banged on the girl's door. "Open up!" He yelled

Lin and John arrived and stood anxiously by his side. Naru banged on the door again as another scream was released. Naru opened the door himself to see Masako trying to hold Mai down. John rushed over to help. John held Mai's arms over her head as Masako held her ankles firm against the bed.

"Some one needs to slap Mai!" Masako yelled "It's the only way to wake her up!"

Lin hesitated to long so Naru jumped in. He quickly slipped in between John and Masako rushing to Mai's side. He leaned over Mai and winced as his hand made contact with her cheek. Her body stopped resisting and the team members let her go.

Mai sat up and looked around. She began to cry. She held onto her pillow as Masako and John laid a hand on her shoulder.

Mai never knew she would see that. If she had, she would have never come.

* * *

_The room was filled with heat. The orange and red at the edge of her vision reminded her of the danger they were in. she held her daughter tightly and low to the ground. A younger Mai struggled in her mother's grasp._

_"MAMA! We have to leave! Let's Go!"_

_Mai had no control of her actions. She could only watch and try to understand as her body tightened its hold on her younger self. She started to cry inside as she realized she was living the last moments of her mother's life._

_"Mai stay still honey. Everything will be okay." She said in a calming voice._

_She slowly tried to pick her and her daughter off the ground. She gasped as her injured ankle gave way. Her red kimono stopped her from blocking her fall. She let go of her daughter and hit the burning carpet. She coughed. Mai felt pressure on her shoulder as younger Mai tugged hard. She tried to get up only to fall back down._

_"No! MAMA! PLEASE! GET UP!" Mai cried. _

_Her face was full of terror. Tears leaked out of her eyes. Amaya looked up at her daughter. Younger Mai fell into a coughing fit. Amaya watches as her daughter starts to get dizzy._

"Momma." She wheezed. "Come on…We have to leave…."

_Mai raised her head above the burning carpet. She stared hard at her younger self. On the inside she cried. She leaned over her daughter and slowly edged her closer to the window._

_"Mai." She coughed "Listen to me."_

_Younger Mai's eyes watered as she coughed lightly._

_"I'm so sorry Mai. Remember I will always love you."_

_And with those words said, she pushed her daughter out the window._

_Younger Mai's screamed ripped through the air as Amaya set her head back onto the burning carpet._

_"MAMA, MAMA, Don't leave me!" Amaya heard her child faintly cry from the yard. Amaya smiled slightly. She made the fall. _

_"Live Mai." She whispered. "Your new life begins now. I'm sorry I left you alone, but…. I'm glad you're alive… Goodbye Mai."_

_Sirens were heard in the back ground and Amaya Nakamura closed her eyes for what would be the last time._

* * *

Naru sat down on the edge of the bed as Mai continued to dampen the pillow. Masako sighed and pulled her into a hug. Naru caught Lin's eye and Lin tilted his head toward the hallway. Naru gave a silent sigh and followed him out.

Lin only took a few steps out of the door before he turned to Naru. "Please talk to Taniyama-san."

Naru took a step back. That was unexpected. "Why? Hara-san is comforting her."

Lin glared hard at Naru. "Out of our whole group, Taniyama-san trusts you the most. I'm taking everyone to base."

When Lin was done talking, he walked past Naru back into the room. Soft whispers were heard and Naru face palms. Why him? With a sigh he followed Lin back into the room.

Naru walks back into the room. Inside, Masako has pulled out of the embrace and has a hand on Mai's shoulder. John is watching Mai with a worried expression. When Lin notices Naru's entrance, he motions for Masako and John to follow him.

At the loss of comfort, Mai grabs onto her pillow. Naru sighs and sits next to Mai. He replaces Masako's hand with his own. Mai looks up at him through her teary eyes.

Naru grinded his teeth lightly. Curse you Lin. Your Shiki will not protect you.

Naru takes a deep breath. "Mai, what happened in your dream?" He asked quietly.

Mai looked at the soft bedding. "Do you remember when I told you about how Okaa-san died?"

Naru nodded and urged Mai to continue.

"I witnessed her death."

Naru froze. The dark thoughts running through his mind about his brother would have scared Lin. He was going to hurt him in the worst pain possible. Gene knew exactly how much Naru Had hurt when he watched His death. How could Gene Make Mai watch through her mother's body? When he got his hands on him…..

A soft sob pulled him out of his thoughts. Mai had started to cry into her pillow again.

Naru sighs softly when an idea popped into his head. At first he rejected the idea immediately. After a second, he reconsidered slightly. Luella had held him when he found out about Gene. Mai need some comfort.

Mai sniffled again and Naru knew he had a short amount of time to do this before she started crying full out. Taking a deep breath, he made a move.

Mai jumped when she felt herself pulled away from her pillow. She was going to ask what he was doing, when her face came in contact with Naru's black shirt. Naru put his arms around Mai's body and held tightly.

He leaned down to where his head was next to her ear.

"It's alright Mai." He whispered softly "I understand completely."

Mai hesitantly started to move. She wrapped her arms around Naru chest. He stiffened slightly then relaxed. She nuzzled her face into his chest. Once again her stiffened before relaxing. Mai tears stopped and she just breathed the scent of tea and cologne that emanated from Naru.

"Thank you Naru" she whispered.

She felt him nod and she relaxed and leaned into him. He shifted slightly into a more comfortable position. He laid his head tiredly on top of hers.

"Your welcome. I'm here Mai always here."

Mai smiled before she closed her eyes. "I know Naru, I know."

* * *

Lin sighed as he and the two other team members left the room. He walked to base with them in silence. After making sure that Naru was nowhere near in range, Masako turned to Lin.

"You trying to set them up aren't you?"

Lin gave a ghostly smirk. "I will never tell."

John stared back and forth between the two people. What were they talking about?

* * *

Naru was pretty sure that Mai had fallen asleep when she stopped moving. He was close to sleeping as well. It was past eleven o clock and it had been a long day.

He hummed to himself and sighed. He should get to sleep, but with Mai resting against him, he knew that wasn't an option.

"Mai?" he said gently "Are you asleep?"

When there was no response, Naru slowly moved. He gently laid Mai next to him on the bed. He moved off of the bed making not a single sound. He picked up the waki taki that sat on the bed side.

"Lin? Are you in base?"

A few seconds had passed and no response. Naru was going to put the communicating device back on the side table when a scratchy response came through.

"Kazuya-san? It's John. Lin left to get something from his room. Masako went with him. I don't know why. She said she wasn't to talk to him. I'm watching the monitors."

Naru gave a sigh. "Alright, I will keep watch next to Mai. Since the lights are on here, tell Hara-san she can sleep on the couch if she wants or she can stay awake with you. Will you watch Monitors till morning?"

"Sure Mate."

Naru smiled softly. "Thanks John. Can you tell Lin that he can get some sleep?"

"Alright Mate don't worry about it! I've got it!" John's cheery voice buzzed back through the phone. Naru wondered vaguely how he could sound so cheery at this time of day.

He set the electronic down before reaching over and placed a blanket over Mai.

After the blanket was over her comfortingly, he moved the pillow she had clutched under her head. She groaned slightly, but did not wake.

Naru rubbed his eyes with one of his hands and sat down beside Mai. He leaned against the backboard and closed his eyes. Before he knew it, he fell asleep.

* * *

**Hope you guys liked it! I know I did! My fan girl was going crazy. ^v^**

**I have news! The interview I went to was for an academy I am joining. I got a letter yesterday saying that I was accepted! Hurray!**

**Also I have to kill my brother when he comes home. I found MY empty box of chocolate in HIS room! He will pay! Pulls out rope!**

**If you guys have any ideas you want in the story, let me know and I might be able to put it in. Even if it is stupid, it might give me another idea! This case is coming to a close soon, so tell me case ideas if you want too!**

**Thanks for reading! Leave a review pretty please!**

**-WhisperToTheWolves**


	20. Chapter 17

Chapter Seventeen

Hosting a Soul

**(Disclaimer: *YAwn* Just read the story already!)**

Naru groaned softly as the sunlight pierced his eyes. He tried to turn over, but his sitting position wouldn't let him. His eyes flashed open as the thought of Mai flowed through his mind. He looked down at said girl who was sleeping peacefully next to him. Tear tracks streaked her face and her hair was a tangled mess, but her face was unstressed. Naru slowly got of the bed and moved to the door. After glancing at his sleeping assistant, he left the room to head to his won.

Lin was in a very deep sleep when Naru entered the room. His black hair was tangled and pressed firmly against the pillow. His breath came in shallow pauses. Naru quickly changed into his black attire and left for base.

Naru opened the door to find John wearily watching the monitors. John brightened like Christmas had come early when Naru walked in. He gave a smile and left the room.

Naru sat down at the monitors and rubbed his temple in a calming motion. His tierd eyes watched at the clock continued ticking. Seven thirty.

Naru wondered if he should wake Mai up or let her sleep in. The dream had been very traumatic for her. Bloody hell, it was her mother of all people! Although Mai recovered fast, Naru wasn't sure if she would jump back onto her feet any time soon.

Naru pondered the idea lightly as he sifted through the recordings of last night. Although John was a very efficient person, there could be the chance that he missed something. He looked tired.

The camera's motion detector flashed as Naru fast forwarded the video. He paused the tape and went backward one minute. He waited to see what could have set off the alarm.

Soft foot step were heard at the end of the hall. Naru tensed as the fait sound of crying was added to the mix. The echoes of the sound resonated through out the base.

The foot steps grew louder and louder until the video of a crying woman came into view.

The light haired woman looked up at the screen before crying harder. Her simple red kimono reached down to both ankles when Naru noticed that a patch of blue and purple was there. Was that a bruise on her ankle?

The woman looked eerily familiar. Her face was in the back of his mind and he wanted to say the name…

Amaya Nakamura.

Naru gasped and stood abruptly from his chair. The kimono wearing femal continued to cry as she walked up and down the hall. Her face looked at the camera again. Her lips moved and she disappeared.

Naru rewound the tape to the part where she looked to be speaking. Naru turned up the volume and was not surprised when he couldn't hear her. Her focused on her bright lips and made out the words.

'Mai, I'm sorry I left you.'

Naru narrowed his eyes as the woman left again. He saved the video and put it in one of the files on his computer. He needed to show everyone later. Even Mai.

Mai. The word made his stomach flutter for a reason he didn't know. She made him feel something he had never felt before. Unknown to her, she had no idea what she was doing.

Naru jumped as the door to the base creaked open. For a minute he thought the ghost was entering the room until a tired Lin walked into the room. The circles under his eyes had not gone away no matter how much he had slept. Lin brushed his bangs out of his face before walking over to his anxious charge.

"What is it?"

"Check camera number fifteen."

Lin walked over to the monitors and scrolled through the history of the tape. A save file had been loaded onto the computer. He clicked it and watched the very same footage Naru had watched seconds before.

"Is that…. Taniyama-san's mother?"

Naru nodded solemnly. The family resemblance was so similar that he didn't need to see the picture to know. Her face and her hair color was enough.

An awkward silence followed as the clocked ticked on.

"Should we wake everyone up?" Lin questioned.

Naru hesitated. "Yes. If Mai is asleep however, let her recover."

Lin's inquisitive nature decided to raise its head. "What was her dream about?"

Naru gave Lin a hard glare that made him shiver slightly. "If she wants you to know, she will tell you." He said hardly. His voice made no room for negotiation.

Lin barely stopped himself from taking a step back. He said nothing as Naru left the room.

Lin gave a sigh and headed toward the other team member's rooms. He skipped John because he knew that the priest had watched the monitors all night.

Lin knocked lightly on the door of the girl's bedroom. He waited a few seconds and the teenage medium opened the door. She was already dressed in her usual attire and was ready for the day.

"Naru requests you in the base. Is Taniyama-san awake?"

Masako nodded her head sadly. She motioned for Lin to enter. Mai sat on the bed holding her pillow tightly in her arms. Her eyes had the same look that Noll had on the Urado case. Her dead Eye looked up at him as he entered the room. They looked down just as quickly. She was still dressed in her night clothes and her hair was a skew. Lin was uncomfortable seeing the normally bright assistant like this.

Masako stood by Lin nervously, unsure of what to do. She wanted to see Mai get back to her old self. She wanted to know what happened so that she could help Mi fix what ever problem she was dealing with.

When Mai had first woken up, the first thing that she did was check her surroundings. Masako could have sworn she said 'happy' and something else, but she couldn't be sure. After making sure of something, she grabbed her pillow and held it tightly. Masako learned that since Ayako was not here, this was her coping strategy. God knew she needed one.

Mai had remained in the same position for over half an hour as Masako got ready for the day. Mai ignored the anxious glances she had received from the other teenager. For once, she didn't care.

Masako slowly walked over to Mai and set a hand on her shoulder. "Are you ready to talk about it?" Mai's answer was simple.

"No."

Masako gave a weak nod. "Can you get ready by yourself?"

"Yes. I'm fine. You can go."

Masako nodded meanly, unsure of what to do. She left the room. After Lin sent an anxious glace to his friend, he left as well.

"Hurray." Mai said bitterly to herself. "Happy Birthday to me." As a moment passed, Mai couldn't stop the single tear the fell down her face.

* * *

Mai walked into the base room feeling worse than she had when her mother died. Her lay laid flat against her head and her lifeless eyes scourged the room. Mai could tell that everyone was slightly happy to see her up. Good thing she had always been considered a good actress.

Mai gave a fake smile to the people inside. It seemed to make them happy and they all turned away except for Naru. His eyes looked slightly worried and his face was in a slight frown.

Mai shook her head, signaling that she didn't want to talk about it. Naru gave a silent sigh and turned back to the monitors.

Mai could tell by the atmosphere in the room that they were hiding something from her. She was not in the mood to take it.

"What is it now?" she said sourly.

Everyone in the room shifted and Naru's eyes rose to meet her own. He sighed and waved her over to the monitors. Lin gave him a glare and Naru met back with his own.

"She would want to know." He said harshly.

Lin scowl deepened and he turned back to whatever he was doing before. Naru rolled his eyes and stood up from his chair. Mai sat down in it and waited for the black screemed monitors to show something. The screen flashed before showing the hallway down stairs near the kitchen. A woman all too familiar walked down the hall crying. Mai stiffened as she realized who it was but remained silent. She watched as her mother looked at the camera screen and lip spoke those words.

Mai let a single tear fall down her cheek before she brushed it away. She stood up from the chair and Naru gave her a foot's space. She took in a deep breath before she stood up and walked to the window. Outside the ever-blooming tree shifted with the wind.

"Do you know of any reason she could still be here?" Naru spoke quietly. The base room stilled of all movement.

"No." Mai said "It doesn't make sense." Naru nodded

"My thoughts exactly. However…" His voice trailed off leaving Mai slightly curious.

She raised an eyebrow "However what?"

Naru sighed. "Do you think…. She regrets dieing?"

Mai frowned. "She died for me. Why would she regret that?"

The medium on the couch spoke up. "Maybe she didn't want to leave you alone."

Mai and Naru stood instantly still like they had been shocked with electricity. "Oh god." Mai whispered. "That's it."

Naru nodded stiffly. "It has to be." He walked toward the door quickly. "Lin."

Without a word the Chinese Man followed his charge out of the door. Mai watched them leave.

"Um… Mai?" Masako said quietly Mai turned to face her close friend.

"While you were getting ready…. We were discussing on how we were going to get the house cleansed." Mai sat back down in the chair next to the monitors. "We thought it would be the best way if…. We let them talk to each other."

Mai sucked in a breath. "How do you suppose we do that?"

Masako shifted. "When I was training to be a medium, we learned how to open our minds to the spirits. That is why we become possessed so easily. The spirit will enter out body and use it as a vessel. If several people offer there bodies as a vessel for your parents, they could talk and move on."

"You think that they will pass on if they talk to each other?"

Masako nodded "We believe that your mother can convince your father to move on."

Mai sighed "I guess it is worth a try…" Masako smiled.

"I think that Naru went to get Takigawa. Once two of us are possessed, we will only have three other people at our use. If Naru and Lin get possessed, even if it is highly doubtful, there is not way that only me, you, and John can hold them back."

Mai nodded "I see. So he went to get Monk to help?"

Masako flashed a look at Mai before sighing. "Really Mai? You would have guessed you would stop asking questions like that. Even after a year, you still ask dumb questions."

Mai flushed in anger. "ARG! Masako!" Mai's eyes flashed with anger and all traces of sadness had left. Masako lifted her kimono sleeve to her mouth. Success was easy to achieve when Mai was the cause. "Yes Mai that is my name."

Mai's face became more flushed before she stormed away from the couch to the other side of the room. She sat down and leaned against the wall ignoring on how John was smiling slightly.

"Stubborn prick medium." She muttered.

Mai gave a sigh and leaned against the wall firmer. She closed her eyes and the whirl of the monitors lulled her to sleep.

* * *

Monk laid down the rag on top of his girlfriend's head. Her morning sickness was getting better and better with each passing day, but he still didn't allow her to get up.

"Houshou! Let me get up!" Ayako wailed.

Monk sighed and shook his head. "Impatient woman."

Ayako's face reddened. "What did you call me?!"

Monk gave another sigh "Nothing…."

Ayako was going to reply, but the ringing of the door bell stopped her. They both turned to the door as Monk got up to answer it. Who would knock on the door at eight thirty in the morning? Only two people came to mind.

Monk opened the door and unsurprisingly, Lin stood waiting.

"We request your help at our client's house." He stated blandly.

Monk gave a sigh. "How long will you be needing me for?"

Lin closed his eyes. "If everything goes to plan, we will be leaving today."

"Alright." Monk sighed. "Give me a minute to get my robes." Lin nodded and Monk left.

A thud from the inside of the house made Lin wince. A scream from Monk was heard.

"Ouch! What the hell are you doing old hag!?"

Another thud and scream were heard. Lin was vaguely wishing Naru was here so he wouldn't have to listen to Monk's crying. Traveling with Monk on the last case had been disastrous. It ended with Monk taking HIS cell phone and getting glared at. Since then, Monk was scared to be any where alone with Lin.

And Naru. Lin sighed. The boy vanished shortly after they left the office. He had told Lin that he was going to do some stuff and that he would be back later.

Monk left the house and shut the door behind him. He rubbed the back of his head where Ayako must have hit him. Lin almost smirked. If he was smart, he would have learned by now.

"I suggest you not get her angry anymore." Lin said. "Don't provoke her and you guys will get along much better."

Monk smirked and dropped him hand. "Ah Lin. If you knew why we do, you wouldn't be saying that."

Lin gave him a confused look before turning around and walking to SPR's van. He got into the car and turned on the engine just as Monk' buckled his seat belt. Monk could have sworn he heard Lin say something, but he must have imagined it.

* * *

Mai lifted her head groggily from the wall. She must have fallen asleep…

The first person she saw when she woke up was Naru. He sat at the monitors and his eyes flicked across the screen. She jerked up. How long had she been asleep?

"Relax Mai." Naru said "I just got back. There is no need to panic."

Mai glared but ignored it otherwise. "Have you talked to Masako since you got back?"

Naru nodded. "I agree with what Hara-san suggests. We need Takigawa and Lin's agreement on it."

Mai nodded. "When are we going to do that?"

Naru rolled his eyes. "When they come back. Obviously Mai, couldn't you have figured that out?"

Mai glared and puffed out her cheeks. "You don't have to be such a jerk…" she mumbled.

Mai stood and stretched. "Wait where's Lin? Don't you two normally go together?"

Naru glanced up at her for a moment before looking back down at the monitors. "WE are two people Mai. I did one thing, while he did another." Mai glared but said nothing. She would find out later anyway.

Lin and Monk walked through the doors like they knew someone was talking about them. Monk looked at Lin nervously. Lin ignored everyone and walked over to the other chair next to Naru. Masako was asleep on the couch preventing Monk from sitting down. John was no where in sight.

Naru answered the question hanging in the air. "John is getting rest in his room."

Mai whirled around on Naru. "Didn't you say that no one was to be alone on this case?!"

Naru gave her an even stare. "That is incorrect Mai. I said YOU were not to be alone." Mai fumed. "What?! Why only me!?"

"You get into the most trouble."

Mai glared at Naru. Just when she thought I started to be nice, he had to go and ruin her good thoughts.

Masako groaned and sat up on the couch. She opened her eyes and blinked at Mai. "Why are you being so loud?"

Mai dropped her mouth open like a gaping fish… "I- he-its ARGH! Naru!?"

Naru ignored her and she huffed. She grabbed the arm of the half conscious medium and half dragged her out of the room.

"I'm making tea!" she yelled dragging her friend the remainder out of the room. Monk laughed and Lin smiled softly. But of course, not one saw. Naru just glared at the absence of his tea making assistant.

* * *

"Alright everyone, listen to everything that I say very closely."

All the members of SPR but Ayako sat on the carpet of the base room. Even the normally silent Lin and Naru sat down looking at the person who spoke. One candle was lit and the light reflected everyone's calm face. Masako stood in front of everyone.

"It might be a bit to do, but we can try." She sat down in front of everyone and closed her eyes.

"Close your eyes and slow your breathing down. This in turn will make your breathing slower."

Mai and the rest of SPR closed their eyes. They could almost hear the flickering of the candle as it burned on the table. The house creaked.

"Now slowly invite the spirit inside your body. Be very careful in what you say. Do not let the spirit have complete control. They can destroy you from the inside."

What a cheerful thought.

The noise of the house creaking got louder and louder as they all invited the spirit to posses them. Mai could hear several other members' breathes pick up slightly. A loud bang was heard on the wall and Mai barely refrained from opening her eyes. She concentrated on inviting the spirit into her.

Two groans were heard and Mai opened her eyes. On the floor were the bodies of John and Masako. Mai reached forward to help them, only to be stopped by Naru. She turned toward him worriedly as he shook his head softly in a very Gene-like manor. Masako and John both sat up and looked at each other. They blinked several times as they moved there new limbs.

Masako and John stared at each other for the longest time. The eyes of the two people easily showed they were possessed. It was very hard to see the color of the eyes while only the candle burned. The room was quickly dropping temperature when they both stood up.

Masako glared and John as he shrunk back. Monk looked at the two, ready to jump in if necessary.

"So," He spoke quietly. "Now that everyone is here, let the meeting start."

* * *

**Soooo… how was this chapter? :) hope you liked where this story is headed! Where did Naru go when he split from Lin? Just a thought to think about! ;D The next chapter will be the last one of the case! Alright! I hoped you all enjoyed this case as much as I did! Please leave a review for me!**

**I would like to say thank you for all of the reviews, favoriters, followers, and even just the views! We are over 10,000 in views, 150 in reviews, 40 favorites, and 65 followers! *Squeal* Thanks so much you guys! The support is amazing! This story is dedicated to all those who read!**

**Omg imagine that if everyone who followed/favorited reviewed for this chapter! O.O That would be amazing!**

**Thanks so much you guys! Love all of you!**

**-WhisperToTheWolves**


	21. Chapter 18

Chapter Eighteen

Happy Birthday

* * *

The expressions of the SPR team varied on each team member. Mai was in-between shocked and amused. Monk held his laughs with his hand pressed tightly against his mouth. Lin was impassive and Naru watched the scene…. Was that a mischievous glint?

In front of the group, Masako was stomping around the room pulling her hair while John sat on the floor sobbing. Masako kept flashing furious glances at John from time to time before stomping around the room again. John's shirt was becoming quiet wet because of all the tears he wiped on it. His face was tear streaked and his eyes were blood shot.

'Well,' Naru thought to himself. 'Now we all know which one is who.'

"Hey Naru," Mai whispered to him "Has Otou-san possessed Masako, and Okaa-san possessed John."

On second thought, maybe not everyone.

Naru barely refrained from giving her a sigh. "Yes Mai. Shouldn't you have figured this out by now?"

Mai scowled and ignored the circus parade in front of her. "Jerk. Anyways are we recording this?" Naru ignored her and continued staring at the possessed team.

Mai huffed and turned back to her friends. John had curled himself into the fetal position talking to himself. Masako was glaring at him hard. Out of the corner of his eye, Monk watched as Naru pulled a camera out of his pocket secretively. Monk glanced at Lin and twisted his face in confusion as he saw Lin was holding a camera as well. Two cameras? Why was Naru being so secretive about it? Monk watched as the light for the recording went on Naru's camera.

Mai watched anxiously as Masako stormed toward John. She grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and hauled him to his feet.

"You!" She spat. "You left me all alone there!"

John momentarily stopped his crying to look up at Masako. "Masaya… I'm sorry!" he wailed

Masako's expression turned dark and all of the non-possessed members tensed. "If you were sorry, you wouldn't have left me there." John started sobbing into his shirt once again.

Mai shifted slightly, unsure of what to do. Part of her wanted to go and resolve there fighting. They were her parents after all.

"Okaa-san, Otou-san, we brought you here for a reason. We-"

Masako whirled around and turned to face Mai. "No." She seethed. "You left me in Tokyo! I have nothing to say to you! You are not my daughter any longer!"

Mai sucked in a sharp breath and took a stumble back. She closed her eyes and stopped a sob. Not his daughter huh? It made sense. She had left him. But he was wrong.

"Your wrong!" She sobbed.

Takigawa's eyes darkened at the younger sister figure on his life. This was her dad? What kind of dad would say something like that to his own flesh and blood? He took a step forward only to be stooped by one of Lin's arms. How did he…?

Lin shook his head. "Wait a minute." He whispered. "Let them handle it. If it gets violet we step in." Monk gave a frustrated sigh and took a step back. "How could a father say something like that to his own kin?"

Lin shook his head. "I have no idea."

Meanwhile, Mai was staring at Masako with tears in her eyes. Pain and anger flashed through her as she stood up straighter.

"How dare you!" She hissed. Monk, Naru, and Lin took a step back. Now he had done it.

Mai took a step forward and took a hold of Masako's kimono. She pulled it forward to where both girls were in each others face. "I have spent my whole life mourning over both of you." She snapped to John and Masako. She turned her glare on John. "Quit your crying! It never got either of us anywhere! Act like the mother I once knew!"

She turned to face Masako with anger evident all over her face. Masako's face was angry but not in the flying hurricane it had been earlier. "After you left, Kaa-san and I moved out of our house because of you! There were too many loving memories and we couldn't take it!"

Masako's looked changed from anger to guilt. Her face softened and she looked at Mai with kinder eyes.

"After you died," Mai whispered. "We left from Tokyo back to this house. I felt relieved. I loved this house and had grown to miss it." She released Masako's body and took a few steps back. Her face softened. "As I said before, we have something here to talk to you about. The people here aren't me."

John froze and turned to Mai with wide eyes. He stopped his crying and stood up. "What are you talking about?" He whispered. "You have been married to a man that was forced into a marriage with you. You weren't happy. I wanted to take care of you."

Mai froze…. The Watanabes were forced into a marriage? It mad sense. The whole time they had been here, they had not seen them together once. It also explained why Amaya never targeted or went after anyone else.

"Okay." Mai said in a soothing voice. "That doesn't matter. It wasn't me anyway. That was a woman by the name of Watanabe Sayuri. You need to move on."

"Mai." Masako spoke. Mai watched as she put her hand on her shoulder. It felt weird knowing that it wasn't Masako touching her, but her father instead. "Forgive me."

Mai jumped back as the soul in Masako's body left. Masako slumped to the ground and John watched with worried eyes. The air above Masako turned a golden he and he was gone. John stood up and watched Mai with caring eyes.

"Are you sure it wasn't you?" He asked.

Mai nodded. "You need to go too. If you stay here, you may not be your self anymore." Her voice remained calm throughout the whole speech. John searched her face for any sign of doubt. When he sighed, Mai relaxed.

"Maybe…. If he is ready to go….. then I am too…." He gave a small smile and embraced Mai. The moment was full of love until John stepped back. "I love you, my daughter." He gave a small smile before he rubbed the top of Mai's head. He stopped and his expression widened. He gave a step back before staring at Mai with shocked eyes.

"You're….no….. not you." He took a few more steps back and hit the wall. He swallowed before looking at Lin and Naru. "I have to go. It's calling me. Please protect her from herself." He said in an eerie manor. Amaya Nakamura left John's body and turned golden. John's body slumped as Amaya moved on into the next world.

Several moments passed as Monk and Lin walked over to the unconscious bodies of Masako and John. Monk grabbed Masako while Lin carried Masako out of the room. Naru and Mai are alone. The clock on the wall clicked to itself as Mai and Naru stood in the empty void.

"Protect me….. from myself?" She whispered. She clutched her arms around her small frame. What did that mean? A flashback of the last case swept through Mai's mind. Gene screaming before her on the astral plane, the light coming out of her own hand as it hit the demon in the face.

"What now?" She whispered. Mai blinked as liquid cascaded down her face. She wiped them away, not even knowing her tears were there.

Naru watch from a few feet away. Mai was crying. Her face was horribly sad. Her parents had both crossed onto the next world leaving her alone to fins out the message hidden in there words. Naru sighed silently and ran a hand through his hair. What she did to him.

Naru walked over and tapped on her shoulder. She looked up at him and her bloodshot eyes watched him curiously. He pulled out the camera he was recoding with and handed it to her. She looked at it confused before she looked up at him.

"What's this for?"

If the moment wasn't so drastic, Naru would have smiled. "Blackmail. Don't be to sad Mai. It doesn't suit you."

He pulled out a small box from his pocket and handed it to her. She looked at him for a minute before taking it without a word. She looked at the green tinted box with a small ribbon around it. Naru walked toward the door and waited by it for a moment. He watched as Mai face lit up in curiosity. His lips twitched. Her mood swings change so fast. Mai looked up and watched him stand before staring down at the box again.

"It's yours." Naru left the room without another word.

Mai gently untied the ribbon as her curiosity got bigger. Why would Naru give her a box? And ….. Blackmail? What would she ever use it for?

She lifted the top of the green box and looked at the tissue paper inside. The red tissue paper framed one small box in the center. She walked over and gently placed the box down on the table, not noticing the form of her boss was back and standing n the doorway. She opened the smaller box and gasped at what she saw.

Inside two charms lay. One was a cartoon ghost with a childish face on it. The crease lines of the smile stared back up at Mai as she picked it up and examined it closer. On the back was an engraving. Squinting, Mai made out the words.

From, Oliver Davis.

Mai blushed. That was a nice thing for him to give her. A small glint from the box in her hand brought her attention to the other charm. The green heart was about dime size with a small trimming of silver. After flipping it over, Mai saw that it too had an engraving on it.

MT.

The purple writing stood out well from the green and Mai smiled. She could easily guess that it stood for Mai Taniyama. It was obvious that the charm had been specially made for her. She smiled as she set it in her other hand. She opened the bigger box and saw a silver chain looped around a card. She picked up the card and read it.

_Mai,_

_This was a gift I had made after we came back from your parents grave. I had it specially crafted at a jeweler near by. You may have the day off tomorrow. Happy Birthday._

_-Oliver Davis (Naru)_

Mai sucked in a huge breath through her teeth. By the door Naru smiled. His gift got to her. She smiled hugely as she lifted the chain from the box. She laced the charms through the chain as she clipped it onto her neck.

"Never." She whispered. Naru frowned and strained his ear to hear the following words.

"I will never take it off." Naru smiled and left the room for the last time.

Mai made sure the necklace was on tight before she skipped out of the room. Nobody was in sight, but as she turned the corner, she ran straight in to Monk and Lin. She hit the floor hard and shook her head in confusion as Monk rubbed the center of his chest.

"Hey runt, where are you going?"

Mai shook her head and laughed. "No sorry about running to me Monk? So cruel~!" She stood up and readjusted the jewelry on her neck. She placed the charms underneath her shirt. Lin smirked at Mai in a knowing smile. Mai blushed. "You knew?!"

Monk watched with confusion as Lin kept grinning like the Chester cat. "How do you think he got there?" Mai squeaked.

"Alright what are you guys talking about?" Monk questioned. "Nothing!" Mai and Lin said in unison.

Monk sighed. "Never mind. Lin is smiling, I don't want to know. Anyways, John and Masako are resting in your room. Lin and I are going to pack up the equipment. When they get up, we are leaving. Naru's orders.

"Okay!" Mai chirped. She ran past Lin and Monk with a smile on her face and cheered.

"CASE CLOSED!"

* * *

**(An: HeY eVeRyOnE~! Hope you liked this chapter even if it was a little short. I have been kindof busy the last couple days!** **Hope you liked the fluff~! **

**Thanks for everyone who reviewed last chapter! It was the most I have gotten for a chapter of Revolving Time. Some of you asked questions...**

**BrokenBlackCat- It would have been to long if I had continued... XD**

**Ebony Mitsu- Lol it was was't it? Unforcunatly, i wasn't able to make it funny... T.T**

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**JigokuTenshi834- Did That answer your question? ^v^**

**Thanks for the reviews~! Leave another one? Please~! :D Love you all lots~!**

**BTW, If you all have case ideas still, Or an idea, I'm still taking them. ;) Send one in. Thanks for everyone who did! They gave me inspiration to finish this case~!)**

**-WhisperToTheWolves**


	22. Chapter 19

"You have got to be kidding me! No way!"

Mai jumped as Keiko yelled in her ear. She unconsciously grabbed her necklace and held on tight. It was her safe item. She knew that once Naru had given it to her, she would never take it off.

Mai hadn't been listening to Keiko because she had been replaying the moment Naru had given her the gift. Over and over and over again. Keiko turned to Mai with a weird expression. Her lips moved, but Mai didn't hear what left them.

She fiddled with the chain nervously. "Hehe…. Sorry, what did you say?"

The other girl sighed. "I said 'Where did you get that necklace?' Geez Mai, you have been in lala land all day!"

Mai rubbed the back of her head sheepishly. "Sorry. I'm just thinking. Also…" Mai blushed lightly. "Someone very special gave this to me as a gift."

Keiko's eyes lit up like Christmas had come early. "OOH~! A gift huh? Who did you get it from? Was it from a boy?" Keiko paused and furrowed her eyebrows. "Wait was there some special holiday that we missed?"

Mai shook her head rapidly and tried to get out of the situation. She hadn't told anyone except for Naru and her old sensei about her birthday.

"Hey Keiko! Akane wants to go to the movies! Want to come," said a girl from across the classroom. Keiko lost her attention with Mai and turned to her friend.

Mai took this opportunity to slip out of the classroom. Hopefully her fellow classmates would not notice she was missing until it was too late. She shut the door quietly and walked down the hall. Her backpack weighed heavily on her back and she sighed. The last case had left her unable to do homework again. Maybe Naru would let her do some at the office.

Mai waved goodbye to some of the students in the hall and continued on her way. When only her footsteps sounded in the wide hall, Mai turned around nervously. Hopefully her friends wouldn't be to mad at her for skipping cleaning the classroom. Her speed increased.

Mai exited the school and kept her head low. She purposely avoided meeting anyone's gaze and walked along the worn sidewalk. As she walked away from her school, she felt the gaze of something unpleasant. She looked up and glanced around. No one in the area was even looking in her direction let alone giving her dirty looks.

She had the feeling that she had felt it before, but she shook her head. She was just imagining it.  
Mai walked all the way to SPR and continuously looked behind her. The bad feeling continued to gnaw at her and refused to leave her alone. She felt like holes were being burned into the back of her head. She nervously bounced up the steps to the office and reached for the handle.

Just as Mai touched the handle, the door flew open and hit her in the forehead. The edge of the door hit her hard and she landed on her bottom clutching her head. She winced as the pain vibrated throughout her brain. Mai looked up to see a hand extended to her.

"You shouldn't stand in front of doors Mai."

Mai took the hand as she recognized the owner of the voice.

"Well sorry." She mumbled. "I wasn't standing in front of it, I was going to walk through it."

Naru rolled his eyes. "Why are you here?"

Mai stared at him confused. "What do you mean? This is my job right?"

Naru sighed "I said that you could take today off. Remember?

Mai blinked as she remembered the note that was in the box he gave her.

^*^* FlAsHbAcK*^*^

She opened the bigger box and saw a silver chain looped around a card. She picked up the card and read it.

Mai,

This was a gift I had made after we came back from your parents grave. I had it specially crafted at a jeweler near by. You may have the day off tomorrow. Happy Birthday.

-Oliver Davis (Naru)

^*^*EnD fLaShBaCk*^*

"Oh yea." She mumbled. "I totally forgot. It doesn't matter though, because I-"

"Mai." Naru interrupted her. "You're bleeding."

Mai reached back up to her head with her hand that she had unknowingly put down in her memory. She felt her forehead and retrieved her hand. Sure enough, a thick red liquid ran across her fingers.

"You have got to be kidding me!" She wined "All of my injuries finally healed!"

Naru ignored her out burst and dragged her inside of the office and to the kitchen. She continued to ramble incoherent things while he pulled the first aid kit out from under the sink. The box had migrated there after Mai kept hurting herself in the kitchen.

He pulled out the disinfectant and applied some to a cotton ball. He removed Mai's hand from her forehead and placed the cotton ball in its place. She hissed slightly and tried to turn away. Naru grabbed her chin and forced her to remain still. She glared at him then sighed knowing that it was not going to work.

She remained still as Naru cleaned her wound. She winced occasionally as more of the cleaner was applied to different areas. Naru was about to put a bandage on her forehead, but she stopped him.

"Naru!" she wined "You can't put a band aid in the middle of my forehead!"

Naru raised an eyebrow. "What do you suggest I do? Would you rather have an injury in a straight line? What will other people think?"

Mai hesitated for a moment before releasing his hand. Naru nodded and placed the bandage on her head. She sighed in defeat and rubed the sore spot on her head.

"What are you going to do? I wasn't expecting you to come in today, so we have nothing on our schedule."

"Well, I was thinking that I could do some filing and then after that I can do some of my homework…." She trailed off.

Naru face remained emotionless as turned around and headed back toward his office.

"Ah Naru?" Mai whispered

Naru turned his head around and looked at her. Mai fidgeted nervously until she grasped her precious necklace that hung around her neck. Naru's lips twitched upward slightly. So she was serious about not taking it off.

"Ummm… Thank you." She mumbled. "I really like the gift that you gave me."

Mai looked up at him through her eyelashes and jumped back. His smile was there and his eyes looked like they were dancing. Mai blushed and avoided eye contact. A few moments passed until Mai heard the door to Naru's office close.

Mai sighed and scratched the side of her blushing face. Had she really told Naru that? Now he was going to blow up and be full of himself again. Mai sighed again before going to her desk. She sat down and pulled out the chair out from under it. She analyzed the mound of paper work on her desk. It was going to be awhile before she would start with her homework.

* * *

Naru leaned back in his chair and stared at the roof of his office. His genuine smile left his face. His muscles ached and he was sure that he was going to be sore there for a while. However, if it made Mai happy, he would do it a million times.

He looked at the large stack of papers unknowing that Mai was doing the same in the front room. It would be a while before he could talk to her. This stack would take at least two hours if he worked diligently. He sighed and almost called out for her to make tea. He hesitated at the last minute.  
Technically, Mai was not working today, so he couldn't order her around. He would have to wait until tomorrow to drink her tea.

When Naru returned to England, he refused to drink any tea. He knew that it wouldn't be the same as the Earl grey that Mai made him. His mother and father had no idea why he wouldn't drink the liquid, but he suspected that Lin and Madoka knew. His mother had eve tried to buy him different brands. It made no difference.

Lin and Madoka. Naru had been getting a vibe from both of them recently. He had the feeling that they were plotting something about him. He hoped that it wouldn't be a surprise birthday party like last year. He frowned. It was June. There was no way they would be planning this ahead unless… it was something big.

Naru rubbed his temple and winced at the thought of his teacher and guardian planning something. It was probably just Madoka, and poor Lin had been suckered into it.

His shoulders slumped as he leaned over the large pile of papers. For now he had to get them done with. Hopefully, Mai would willingly bring him tea in the near future.

* * *

The phone rang and Mai sat up sharply. She stared at it numbly before taking a hold of it.

"Hello, Welcome to Shibuya Psychic Research. This is Taniyama. How may I help you?"

A rustle of static went through the phone before a man spoke through.

"I have reason to belief that my theater is haunted. Is there any way that you can get ride of whatever is there?"

Mai sighed. "What are the paranormal phenomena occurring in your theater sir?" Mai could tell the man was nervous, so she added more. "Do not worry. I will not judge you. We deal with many cases all the time."

The deep voiced man took another breath. "This might be crazy, but we have experienced many disappearances only to have them shown up days later murdered." He hesitated. "Also… All of the victims have had there tongue cut out."

"Is there any indication that it could be a murderer?"

The man remained quiet for a moment before he spoke. "No. Other things like flying knifes have been seen. Sometimes there will be thudding coming from the ceiling. However, when we check upstairs, there is nothing there and the thudding is continuing."

Mai flinched but kept her voice from faltering. "I think you might have something there. Would you like to schedule an appointment? I can ask my boss for you. I'm getting a feeling this isn't fake."

The man breathed a sigh. "Thank you."

Mai nodded even though she knew that the man could not see her nod. "I will be right back sir. Please hold."

With that, Mai sent the phone down and stood up from her desk. She opened her drawer and pulled out a schedule. She maneuvered around her desk and went to see her boss. She walked cautiously to the door and knocked lightly.

"Hey Naru. Someone on the phone wants to schedule an appointment. It defiantly was not a fake one."  
A quite shuffling came from the room and she heard a grumble. "Yes. Schedule him for tomorrow at noon."

Mai smiled and wrote it down in her schedule book. "Okay thanks!"

She hopped back to her desk and retrieved the phone. "Sir, Are you still there?"

"Yes Ma'am."

Mai blushed slightly. "Sir just call me Taniyama. My boss said he would have an appointment with you. Are you able to come at noon tomorrow?"

"Oh yes! Thank you Taniyama-san!"

Mai just chuckled. "You're welcome." She blinked. "Ah I'm sorry. I forgot to ask you for your name."

The man let out a single laugh. "I forgot to tell you. My name is Tachibana Kaito."

"Alright then Tachibana-san, we will see you tomorrow."

The man said his good bye and hung up.

Mai yawned and stifled a sigh. Glancing at the clock, she saw that it was a little past five. She frowned as she realized that Naru had not asked for tea the whole two hours she had been here. She stood up and was about to make tea as she heard the office door open. She turned and saw Sayuri standing there.

"Watanabe-san what are you doing here? Are you still having ghost problems?"  
The older looking girl smiled slightly before placing the sleeve of her kimono over mouth in a very Masako-like action. "Ah nothing. I just wanted to thank you personally for helping us out." She extended her other hand that held a small bag. Mai walked over to her with confusion in her eyes. Sayuri handed the bag to Mai and she opened it. Her eyes lit up as she saw cookies in it.

"Watanabe-san thank you!" Mai smiled brightly. "You didn't have to do this. It's our job."

Sayuri shook her head. "Nonsense. You were only there a day and you were able to get rid of the spirits in our house."

Mai gave her a big grin. "Thank you all the same. Would you like some tea?"

Sayuri nodded. "Thank you. That would be nice."

Mai set the cookies on the counter and started to prepare some tea. She pulled out four tea cups figuring that after not having any all day, the men in black would want some too.

Sayuri took in her appearance. "I see that you are not wearing any black. Do you only wear it on cases?"

Mai looked down at her green shirt and Capri's. "Ugh no." She laughed. "I was just wearing that for personal reasons."

Sayuri nodded. She watched as Mai prepared the tea for the lot of them. As Mai began to create it, a question popped into her head.

"Hey Watanabe-san? This might be a personal question and you don't have to answer…. But is it true that you were in an arranged marriage with Watanabe-san?"

Sayuri stiffed slightly and Mai felt instantly guilty for asking. When Sayuri relaxed however, Mai followed suit.

"I didn't think that it would be important information." She bowed. "Forgive me for not telling you."

"AH NO!" Mai shook her hands nervously. "It's okay. I completely understand why you wouldn't want to share something like that. It wasn't that relevant anyway."

Sayuri looked relieved and the kettle whistled startling then both. Mai quickly took it off the stove and hoped that she had not disturbed the two men working in their offices. When she heard nothing, she sighed and began pouring the tea into the cups. She handed one to her and set the rest on a tray.  
Both of the girls drank there teas in quiet and soon were both finished. Lucky for Mai, The tea that she would give to her friends was still hot. Sayuri smiled and rinsed out her cup. Mai smiled and Sayuri began to walk to the door. Both of the women bowed to each other as Sayuri began to leave. Before leaving she smiled and winked at Mai.

"By the way, Happy Birthday." Mai stared at her and blinked briefly. How had she known? She left and Mai just watched the door for a few moments. Shaking her head, she delivered the tea she made to Naru.

"I made you some tea. Do you want it?"

"Come in."

Mai entered her boss's office and set the tea on his desk. She wasn't expecting a thank you, so she turned to leave. She still had Lin's tea to deliver.

"Thank you." Mai stopped walking and blinked. She turned to her boss to find him sipping his tea. Had she imagined it? Naru raised an eyebrow at her and she blushed. She retreated out of the office and knocked on Lin's door.

"Lin-san, I have tea."

A small grunt was the only invitation Mai got. She opened the door and walked in. Yet again, he was on his laptop typing. Mai vaguely wondered what he did on that computer as she set down his tea and left.  
She sat at her desk and wondered even after two hours of work why her stack of papers wasn't getting any smaller. She sighed and set to work.

* * *

**An: I am so sorry! I haven't updated in forever. However I have perfectly good reasons.**

**1) As I was writing this chapter, I took a few brakes. When I came back, my brother was on and he was on facebook. He didn't save any of my chapter. The next day, he did the same thing. **

**2) It was my stepmom's birthday.**

**3) I have a project In my science class that is worth 530 points. *GAG* Yea….. If I don't ace it, I wont be able to publish for a while….**

**4) I am at my dads, and my mom is not letting me take over the laptop anymore. My parents put a password on the computer because my brother gets on without asking… they don't leave there room till noon.**

**Just to let you know, I will probably only be able to update once a week. Can you guys choose a day that you want me to publish on. If I have to chapter already ready, then I will post early…..**  
**Thank you for listening! Please leave a review! If you do, they you can have one of the yummy chocolate cookies Sayuri made! YUM!**

**(ps. There is a poll on my page for the gender of Ayako's baby….)**

**Since you guys waited so long….. I have a hit of what is going to happen In the near future….. remember Saki?... XD …. Just something to think about… **

**Thank you all for the support. Without it., I would not have been able to finish this chapter!**

**-WhisperToTheWolves**


	23. Chapter 20

Chapter Twenty

The Cycle Begins Again

"Tachibana-san, what are all of the paranormal occurrences in you home?" Naru questioned.

Kaito Tachibana was a dark haired man with dark eyes. Some would categorize his chin as 'strong' and his nose as 'sharp'

"When I spoke to Taniyama-san over the phone, I told her than many people have been going missing. When we find them again, they have all been killed in an array of different ways."

Naru's eyebrow twitched. "Are you sure they are not committing suicide or where murdered."

Kaito nodded. "She asked me something similar to that too. I do not think that is the case however. When we find the bodies, each of them always has there tongue cut out." He shivered.

"Also, knifes will fly out of nowhere. When the people go missing they will always be people of older status. They have targeted everyone from age eighteen to age fifty. Never children."

Naru brought his hand to his chin in what Mai would have called his thinking pose. Mai was defiantly becoming more of an investigator everyday. "I see. Are you sure she said that?"

Kaito nodded. "She did Shibuya-san. She also said she was getting the feeling it wasn't fake."

Naru nodded. "We will take your case. Mai has very good instincts when it comes to someone's safety. We will be there once she gets out of school and packs her items. Please prepare three rooms for us. One for women to sleep, one for the males and one as our headquarters."

Kaito gave a grateful smile and stood up. He bowed deeply. "Thank you Shibuya-san! I was afraid that my daughter would be the next victim. She is nineteen."

Naru nodded. "Leave your address with my assistant and we will be there as soon as possible."

The man smiled brightly as he enthusiastically gave Lin his address. He bowed once before he left.

"Naru, what time does Taniyama-san get out of school?" Lin asked his charge.

Naru lazily looked up at the clock. Twelve thirty. The client had been caught in traffic on his way here.

"Mai gets out in two hours. However, she can skip her last class. Its English and she can speak it fluently."

Lin nodded. "Would you like me to go and pick her up in half an hour?" (1)

Naru nodded and they both stood up and retreated into their offices. Lin went back to typing on the laptop he was so fond of, while Naru looked up information regarding the client's house. If Mai knew that it wasn't fake, that means something bad was going to happen, or this was a case she didn't want to go on. Either way, something made her feel uneasy and he was going to find out.

Mai grumbled as her teacher droned on and on about pronouncing the syllables correctly. She spoke in fluent English. Even if Mai understood, most of the other students looked confused. The only reason she was in this class was that Keiko didn't understand any of it and need help a lot. She couldn't wait until school was over.

A knock on the door made the teacher stop her lecture. She opened the door and looked up at the man standing there. A lot of the students leaned forward to see the man that had disrupted the class. Mai didn't care because she knew the lecture was going to start again.

She dragged her eyes away from the teacher and looked out the window. From here, she could see the remains of the 'haunted' school building. Only some of the frame was there and she could see that the construction workers trying to get rid of the rumble. Mai sighed and laid her head down on her desk.

"Taniyama-san."

Mai sat up quickly as she knew the consequence for lying down in this class room. The teacher had a small smile on her face as she caught Mai.

"There is a person waiting for you outside the classroom. Please exit quietly."

Murmurs erupted quietly all over the classroom and Mai sighed. Jeez these people are pointless. No wonder they didn't get the curriculum.

She stood up from her seat and spoke to the teacher.

"**Will I be returning?" **she asked in perfect English.

The teacher smiled and shook her head. "**No Mai." **

Mai pondered why she was getting out of class early. It's not like she had parents who were taking her to a doctor's appointment. Were Monk or Ayako springing her for some reason?

She was about to start walking when someone she completely didn't expect stuck their head into the room.

"**Taniyama-san." **Lin said **"Naru has accepted Tachibana-san's case. You need to get your clothing packed and come to SPR. I will drive you there."**

Mai faintly blushed as the whispers in the class erupted. They were all probably wondering why Mai knew someone like Lin. His English was absolutely perfect. Even the teacher stared at him for a moment. Her English had an accent because she spoke in Japanese all day and switched languages at random points. Lin's was flawless.

She picked up her pace as the teacher spoke to Lin.

"**Where did you learn your English and how are you connected to Taniyama-san?**"

Mai sighed and ran a hand through her hair as she walked to Lin's side. Lin turned to the teacher and looked her in the eye.

"**I live in England . Taniyama-san is my coworker."** Afterwards, he walked out of the room. Mai rubbed her temple as she heard some of her classmates whisper how good looking Lin was. Hopefully, he hadn't heard that.

Lin and Mai walked down the hall in silence as an occasional passerby watched them pass. Once again, Mai felt she was being watched and nervously looked behind her. She rubbed her arms as goose bumps started to form. She stepped into line behind Lin and knew that nothing was going to happen. Plus, Lin's shiki would have sensed it….. Right?

The thought of Lin's shiki made Mai look up at the man. She froze as she saw white lights swirl around his walking form.

"L-lin-san." She whispered.

Lin stopped at turned around. The white blurs faded in and out of Mai's sight and stopped moving.

"What is it Taniyama-san?"

Mai slowly reached up and touched one of the white will-o-the-whisp. It went through her hand causing it to go slightly numb. Lin's eyes widened and he whistled sharply.

All four of the white blurs moved back to him and he watched Mai cautiously. Without her knowing, Lin gave orders to them and watched as Mai's eyes trailed his followers.

"You can see my Shiki?" Lin whispered.

Mai snapped her gaze to his and the white blurs continued to move in and out of her sight. "Those are your shiki?"

Lin nodded. "I did not understand why you are able to see them. I am not making them purposely visible." Mai blinked once and the Shiki vanished.

"They are gone." She said. Lin blinked once before he nodded "It is quite possible that you powers are growing again and that you can see calm spirits for short periods of time." Lin looked at his watch. "Come, you have to get packed for the case."

Mai nodded and numbly followed him to the SPR van.

* * *

Mai thudded up the steps to her apartment as fast as she could. Lin was waiting in the van down stairs and she didn't want him to wait long. She unlocked her door and got inside. She tried to invite Lin inside, but he refused. Mai quickly grabbed her bag and started putting in clothes for as much as a week. She made sure that she put her jeans and Capris in. On the last case, she learned that wearing skirts made a lot of other things difficult. She quickly got her toiletries and grabbed necessary school materials. She was just lucky that the only teacher that gave hard core homework was her English homework. She thudded down the steps and walked to the van. She got another feeling she was being watch, but she ignored it.

She got into the van and she knew that Lin was watching her. He said something incompatible and started the van.

They rode for five minutes until one of them decided to initiate a conversation.

"Taniyama-san," Lin said "Have you found anything on what your mother meant by when she said that we need to protect you?"

Mai sighed and shook her head. "No. I wish that I had her diary to read, but that got burned when she died."

Lin nodded. "Also… There was something I wanted to question you about." When Mai stiffened, Lin shook his head. "Relax its not that serious. During the demon tunnel case, there was a night that some… strange things happened to you. Were you aware of this?"

Mai nodded "Naru told me. He said that my body was covered by a light and that no one could get near me."

"Did you have any strange dreams during that time?"

Mai knew that she should have answered Lin, but she also felt like this was something that wasn't supposed to be shared with anyone. She voiced her option to Lin.

"Yes something did, but….. I'm getting the feeling inside me that I am not supposed to tell anyone yet."

Lin stared at her for a moment before focusing his eyes back on the rode. "As you wish."

Mai sighed. "Thanks Lin-san."

He didn't respond.

* * *

Naru stood outside of the office waiting for his assistants to arrive. They were going to leave as soon as the equipment was in the van. They needed to load up the car as soon as possible to get going. He had already informed the team of the new case. Unforcunatly they wouldn't be there for a few hours. Everyone would be coming except for Ayako, who would be staying at her mother's house until the case was over.

He saw the familiar shape of the van come into view and he walked down to the curb. The van came to a stop and Mai and Lin got out. Without a word, Lin went upstairs to get the equipment while Mai stayed down with Naru.

"So you accepted the case?" she inquired.

"No Mai, we are packing the equipment to drive around half the city and come back."

Mai glared "What ever Jerk Wad."

Naru rolled his eyes. "You are the one who asked."

"Don't blame this on me!"

At this point the argument was starting to get worse and neither of them noticed that Lin passed them several times in putting the equipment. Before any of them knew it, Lin was clearing his throat.

"The van is set to go."

Naru stopped his insulting/teasing and got into the car. Mai huffed and got in of the other side of him. Lin started the car and they began to drive. Not five minutes into the car ride, Naru looked over to find his assistant sleeping in the back seat next to him. He should have known. He leaned into the back on the van and pulled out a blanket. He threw it over Mai as she whimpered in her sleep. He watched her for a moment before he watched the buildings out the window.

* * *

_The inner arm of her elbow hurt as she walked. The doctors were not merciful or gentle. They grabbed her and forced her to walk down the unpainted halls. Mai knew that even though this wasn't her memories, it must have happened. She wanted to desperately escape the dream she was in. Her instincts told her this was not going to end well. For some reason she felt sad._

_'Gene.' She called out in her head. 'Get me out of here!'_

_After moments of silence, she continued to walk unwillingly with the doctors that dragged her. She could tell that the body she was in was male. Certain parts…were missing. _

_The doctors turned the corner and Mai jerked. Directly in front of her was a door. Mai gasped like she had been punched._

_"No. No. No!" She screamed. "I don't want to go in this door! NO!"_

_The doctors ignored her completely and dragged her through the door way._

_She scrammed furiously and the doctors held on tighter. She jerked away from one of the male doctors and kicked him in the groin. Mai would have felt a satisfying feeling, if she wasn't running for the life that would soon be lost._

_Behind her, she could hear the doctors yelling for her to get back. _

_"OKAA-SAN." Mai screamed for the boy. "Tell them to leave me alone!"_

_The doctors ran after the eight year old. They were not going to let him escape now. _

_The young boy turned the corner hurriedly looking for his mother. Mai watched from inside as she saw small children crying in the corners. They faded in and out of her vision, or rather the boy's. Not just children continued to pass. People of all ages. The tweens, teens, and adults. Lots of the passing…figures… even looked as old as fifty or sixty. Mai dashes faster down the white halls. The footsteps behind is got louder._

_"Get him! He is not healthy. He can't go out in society!" _

_The black haired eight year old ran down the hallways, but he knew that he would not get far. He had been trapped in this prison for over two years. His body was not trained to run for long periods of time. His breathing labored quickly and his legs slowed. _

_The doctors did not have this problem. They had been chasing children and full grown adults on regular days._

_The boy collapsed and clutched his head. _

_"Leave me alone." He whispered. "I'm not crazy. They are here. I see them. I don't belong here."_

_One of the female doctors with blonde hair pinned the boy to the ground and he didn't resist. It was no use. After all a person who could see dead people must be insane right?_

_Mai was helpless as thoughts of terror ran threw her mind. Memories of the child. The doctors injected him with something and he was unable to move. Once again, he was dragged to the door which had scared him so bad. He was hauled inside and strapped to a table. Mai's memories pushed themselves to the top of her head. Urado's mansion caused tears to fall down her inner self. Unknown to her, tears dribbled down the face of the child. One of the doctors was sharpening a knife. _

_"Wait." The boy sobbed. "Tell my mom!"_

_The doctors paused in their choice. Never had they had a victim talk to them._

_"Tell her I love her." He whispered. "Please tell her that."_

_The same blonde doctor as before smiled in a sickening way. "Hun~! You make it sound like your going to die. We aren't going to kill you, but the scene you caused this morning will not be tolerated."_

_The other doctors watched nervously as there co worker gripped the knife tighter and latched a hold on the young boys chin. _

_"Ah sensei? I don't think we re supposed to be doing that…" One of the younger doctors said. _

_The blonde gave an expression so fierce, the boy to a step back._

_"Shut up!" She hissed. "This brat made a loud scene. He will not do that again!"_

_The rest of the doctors took a step back frightened. This was the reason they never apposed her. In reality, they knew the boy was not insane. It was the doctor. _

_Mai paled as the doctor drew nearer. The blond nurse took a firm hold on the child's chin and opened his mouth. Why was it that she always had the dreams?_

_The dreams… Mai eyes widened in her soul and in the boy's body. Was this for the next case? Oh god… what was it that Tachibana-san had said?_

**_"Also… All of victims have had there tongues cut out…"_**

_NO! She was not going to watch this. Mai struggled to escape the dream she was caught in. _

_"GENE GET ME OUT OF HERE!" She yelled. "I know what's going to happen! Get me out!"_

_There was no response and both of her bodies sobbed. She tried to push her soul out of her body as the woman lowered the knife. She tensed and shut her eyes mentally._

_NO!_

_Mai's body loosened and the straps vanished. Mai's eyes fluttered open and she looked up into sapphire eyes. She sighed in relief._

_"Mai." Gene said tensely "How did you get here?"_

_Mai blinked. "What are you talking about? Didn't you bring me here?"_

_Gene sighed and ran a hand through his hair. It paused halfway through his hair. "No." he said deeply. _

_Gene's figure started to blur and Mai blinked. When he continued to wave back and forth, she rubbed her eyes. A light pierced her vision and she opened her eyes. _

* * *

The sun was shinning through the window of the car. Naru and Lin were both looking at her with concern in there eyes, although neither would ever admit it.

"Mai," Naru said "Are you awake now?"

Mai rubbed her eyes again and looked up at him. "Ummm….. How did I get here? I was just on the astral plane."

Naru sighed and motioned for her to come. Naru opened the door of the van and climbed out. He looked at her expectantly as he held the car door open. Without another thought, she climbed out after him.

She looked around the place for Monk's car before looking back at the others. "I was hoping the others would be here. I had a dream and," She shuddered. "I don't really want to explain it twice."

Naru nodded. "They will be here in a few hours. You don't have to say it twice. Tell me and Lin in base. We will explain to the others."

Mai grimaced. "You're going to regret saying that." She mumbled.

Naru rolled his eyes. "I doubt that. Now, get the equipment."

That was he said, and he was going to stick to it. Even if he knew it was unpleasant, he would stick with it. He knew it was, considering she had tears on her face to this second. He watched as she got one of the monitors out from the back of the van. Yes he wasn't regretting anything. Not for her.

* * *

**(1) The school I go to starts early and ends early. I don't know how schools in Japan work, so we'll just go with that. ;)**

**Did you guys like that little sweet ending. I know I did. XD**

**For updating, I'm thinking baout Monday. That sound good to you?**

**Also, Was the dream good? I tried to make it as creepy as I could, But I'm still a beginner**

**ALL CHOCHOLATE EATERS UNITE! One again my brother has taken my secret stash. Sugestions on torture? I'm all for them!**

**(BTW: I just finsihed a series called psychic detective Yakumo. I thought it was awesome. It deals with psychic stuff... obviously. Sigh~ I wish it was longer. It was only 13 episodes...**

**Thanks for reading this story and i'm so happy that all the people are enjoying it. Without you, this would be uncompleted in a folder on my desktop!**

**Please leave a review for me!**

**-WhisperToTheWolves **


	24. Chapter 21

Chapter Twenty One

Target- Locked On

* * *

"So what you are saying, is that you never…. Felt the knife?" Naru questioned Mai.

She shook her head. "No I got out of there in time….. However…"

"However what Mai?"

Mai sat up, surprised. "What do you mean? I didn't say anything." She gave a nervous laugh. She really needed to be more careful otherwise Naru would start to think she went insane. "Anyways~! Shouldn't the others be getting here about now?"

"AWWW! Does Mai-chan miss us?"

Mai was going to yell back, if at that exact moment her face hadn't been pressed against someone's chest. The slamming of the base door was heard in the background, but Mai ignored it. She struggled against the strong grip as the person cooed into her ear.

"YASUHARA OSAMU! Let me go!"

The grip was released with the sound of Yasu yelling in pain.

"Shonen! Stop teasing Mai-chan! You're going to kill her if you keep that up!"

Yasu's eyes started to sparkle mischievously before he turned to Monk.

"My love~! You have escaped from Ayako to visit me!"

Monk tried to shake off the leach that attached to him arm. "Leave me alone you demonic child!" When Monk got his arm free, he fled the room before the twenty year old attached itself again.

Mai giggled as the noise started to decrease. The two men in black sat without any emotions. However if you looked close enough, you could tell that Naru was slightly annoyed and Lin was bored. Mai shook her head. She had to do her job or she would end up becoming tea maker of the week.

Naru sighed in exhaustion that was soon to come when he realized Mai was finally paying attention to him. "Is that all Mai?"

Mai nodded, in complete honesty and seriousness. "That's all of the dream. If I get any more I'll let you know."

Naru nodded. "Good."

With that, he left the metal chair and joined Lin in setting up the rest of the monitors. Mai watched him for a minute before he turned to look at her. She blushed and looked away.

"Ah-h, So Naru, what do I do?"

"Go set up the cameras when someone comes back to base. With the information that Tachibana-san has given us, anyone on our team is in the target range. Your dream has proved that this is in actuality a ghost haunting. No one is to be alone at the very least."

Mai pouted. "How come I always have to set up the cameras?"

Naru paused what he was doing and turned to her. "I pay you don't I? Also, we both know that half the time you're sleeping."

Mai flushed and clenched her fists. "T-that's my job! Jeez, anyway I'm helpful when I sleep." She paused. "For some reason that doesn't sound right…"

Naru rolled his eyes but said nothing else. Mai sighed and ran a hand through her hair. With a huff, She sat on the couch and waited for the next SPR member to come in. Once again, the feeling that accompanied her at the school returned. Something was watching her. She glanced around nervously. Nothing was there.

The feeling increased as did her worries. What was going on? Was she just being paranoid?

Footsteps sounded down the hall and the base door was opened swiftly. Mai jumped off the couch and turned to face a very concerned Australian priest. He blinked a few times and Mai thought he was going to slowly walk out of the room like Monk.

"Are you alright Mai-san? You seem very jumpy."

Mai soothed her nervousness as the uneasy feeling disappeared. "Yea…. Want to set up the cameras with me?"

John nodded and smiled. "Sure mate. I'll go get them."

Mai nodded back and followed him out of base, not knowing that a pair of bright green eyes watched from nearby.

* * *

Mai rubbed her eyes as she tired to get more comfortable. It was past midnight and even though she was dead tired, she couldn't fall asleep. She wondered vaguely if Naru was watching the base still or if he was fast asleep. Frankly, she had no idea.

"Forget this." She said quietly to herself. "I'm going to go mad if I keep trying to go to sleep."

She slowly lifted herself and got out of the bed. She looked behind her to see if she had woken the sleeping medium. She sighed in relief and walked out of the room and away from the soft snores.

She slowly walked to the kitchen. Her footsteps barely made any noise as she passed by the other sleeping team members' doors. Yasuhara was a light sleeper and if he woke up, she would never be left alone. After passing by the doors quietly, she sighed in relief.

A cold chill passed by her and she clutched her sleeveless arms. Maybe wearing a tank-top out of bed wasn't a good idea. Why did she even where them? On the other hand, a jacket would probably have fixed the problem.

Well at least now she knew why Naru called her an idiot.

Once in the kitchen, Mai looked around for tea making tools. She fist pumped once in victory after she found the teapot and tealeaves. She filled the teapot halfway with water before placing it on the stove.

She dug around in the covers across from the kettle before she pulled out a teacup. She almost pulled out two before she remembered that Naru was probably asleep.

"If your going to make tea at one thirty in the morning, Then at least make me some."

Mai jumped into the air and dumped the tea on the floor in the process. She whirled around so quickly that she landed on her bottom looking up at the male in question.

"N-naru? Jeez you keep scaring me! Is that one of your favorite hobbies now?"

Naru rolled his tired eyes and ignored the question. Mai looked up at Naru ready to retort about his attitude before noticing his eyes. There usual blue was dimmed lightly from lack of sleep and the black semi-circles under his eyes made him look like a zombie.

"Naru." She said in horror. "When was the last time that you slept?!"

Naru cast his eyes down on her before pinching the bridge of his nose. "Yesterday…"

Mai glared at him. "Naru its past midnight, so you mean you haven't slept in over 24 hours!? What were you doing?!"

Naru looked up at the teakettle that was starting to steam. "I was looking up on the information that Tachibana-san sent over to us. We need to know everything about a spirit if we are going to try to figure out what it is."

Mai's eyes widened. "You mean….. Alright that's it!" She stood up and pulled out another cup from the cabinet and placed it hard on the counter. Naru watched her with noninterest as she poured the hot water into both of the now leaved teacups. She leaned against the side of the kitchen mumbling inaudible things to herself.

After a few minutes she removed the tealeaves and handed one o the teas to her boss.

"Drink this and go to bed." She glared.

Naru raised a tired eyebrow up at her. "Since when were you boss? Also, who is going to watch the base?"

Mai's glare hardened and slightly surprised him. "I will. Go to bed."

Naru gave her one of his emotionless gazes. "Why? Anyways, you need sleep too if you going to be of any use."

Mai felt a flicker of annoyance flare up, but she kept it hidden. "How about this then? I have Madoka's cell number and I can ask her to call your parents about not taking care of yourself like you are supposed to. Madoka has told me stories about them. Or you can just go to bed and not have to deal with any thing."

Naru stared down his assistant wondering why he had let her boss him around when she wasn't the boss. Sure, he had let Madoka boss him around, but she WAS the boss of him. He finally decided that Mai would make a bunch of racket or go get Lin if he didn't go to bed.

He sighed. "Fine, but in half an hour. I still have a few more things to do."

Mai blinked as Naru leaned against the counter, sipping the tea she had just made for him. That was incredibly easy. Either Naru was more tired than he was letting on, or he just didn't want to argue with him right now. It must have been the first one.

'_Or_' she commended to herself. '_He was really scared of his parents_.'

She giggled at the internal thought. Right Naru being scared of his parents. What a laugh!

Or maybe he….

"Come on Mai. Hurry up. If you stay there, you could be attacked by a spirit."

Mai jumped from the wall she was leaning against. "A-Ah! Naru don't leave me alone!"

Mai thought she saw Naru pause for a second in shock before he continued on his way. He mumbled something, but it was to gentle for her ears to hear. She sulked and sprinted to catch up with his as he walked down the hall.

Inside his head, the words he just said ran through.

'_I won't…. I never will….. I won't…. I never will….. I won't…. I never will…..'_

He scrunched his eyes shut as he picked up his speed. What in the world had caused him to say those words of all of the one to choose from? Mai almost heard it too. He had to be more careful.

He could hear the tiny footsteps behind him of his younger assistant. Mai.

"Hold on Naru." Naru heard Mai whisper. He paused and looked behind him at the girl that had a hand on her door. "I need to get something so I have something to do later."

"Be quick."

Mai nodded and disappeared into the room. A few moments later, she pulled out something that had English writing on it. He raised his brow.

"It's English homework." She said in response. "It gives me something to do besides staring at the monitors all night."

Naru rolled his eyes. "How much do you have? With the way you work at that stuff, it won't last long."

Mai blinked. Was that Naru talk for a compliment on her knowledge of the English language? She blushed slightly, but did not reply. Naru didn't say anything either, But was criticizing himself on the inside. Why was he saying such weird things today?

They finally reached the base in silence. Without a word, they both slipped quietly into the room and shut the door. Naru sat down in the chair next to the monitors while Mai sat in the one horizontal from him.

The silence was awkward as the oldest teens said nothing to one another, both waiting for something. Mai was waiting for thirty minutes to pass, while Naru was waiting for Mai to fall asleep so that he wouldn't have to go to bed. Even if Mai called Madoka, Naru wouldn't have gone to sleep. The only reason he even considered it, was so that Mai would stop being so concerned.

Mai stood up from her chair and walked the two feet over to Naru. She placed her hand on top of his shoulder. "Hey Naru, half an hour has passed. Are you ready to go to bed?"

Naru felt a flare of annoyance slowly raise its head. "I realize that Mai."

Mai waited a few moments after his comment to find that he had not moved. "Well?"

Naru turned and glared at her in hopes of getting her to leave him alone. Mai's body tensed as she glared back. She was so not going to deal with this tonight.

"Naru… Get out of the base and go to bed." She demanded. Naru just raised and amused eyebrow at this. She was certainly braver that he thought.

Mai's glare deepened as she leaned forward and latched her hand onto his wrist. Without him even noticing, Mai and pulled him from his seat and shoved him to the door. He stumbled slightly, from shock and surprise. Even though Mai was so small, she could still pull a man from his seat.

Naru felt his assistant's two tiny hands on the middle of his back before he was out of the now open door. He barely caught himself from tripping over his two feet and stared back at the irritated teenager. Had she really just done that?

Mai's face twitched with irritation like it did when she was mad. "Go to bed!" she half whispered. "You are not allowed back into this room until at least eight in the morning."

With that, she shut the door leaving him shocked. He wondered if it would be wise to knock on the door and ask Mai to give him the case file. He decided against it, as he really did not want to get shoved again. Mai was strong, and if she pushed in that same spot again, he might have a small bruise by the time he woke up.

With a sigh, he walked to the room that he shared with the omnyoji.

* * *

Inside the base, Mai was leaning against the base door with wide eyes.

"Holy crap." She whispered. "Did I really just do that?" She winced. "I hope that he won't be to mad…..He really needed to get some sleep."

She paused and wondered what she should do next. Should she open the door and let Naru back into the room? Maybe that hadn't been the best way to get him to sleep…

Mai shook her head. No. He had to get some sleep eventually. Otherwise, he was going to collapse from exhaustion.

Mai shifter her weight off of the door and walked back to the monitors. She sat down and placed the English homework she had gotten early in her lap. This was going to take a while, but at least it got something done and she was able to watch the monitors while she was at it.

Mai sighed to herself. There was no way that she would do this for anyone but Naru. Sure she cared for them all, but not like Naru.

Naru had so many flaws, that Mai had lost count. Despite his handsome face, all of the other girls knew nothing about him. The rest of SPR too, despite Lin. While Naru was a jerk to everyone else most of the time, he was kind to her when everyone else was gone. Lin probably didn't even know that. Despite the two of them and her spirit guide Gene, nobody else knew.

She also intended to keep it that way.

Mai sighed as she finished the first out of fifty pages on English homework.

All of Naru's flaws…. Were some of the reasons why she loved him.

* * *

Naru opened the door to his room very slowly and quietly. Lin was a very light sleeper and he wasn't about to get lectured for not going to bed at eleven like he promised.

A wave of dizziness hit him like a ton of bricks. He stumbled and winced as the loud squeak of his shoe scrapped the hard floor.

He stabled himself and set his empty teacup down on a mini-table as he and walked over to his bag near the dresser. He dug around the biggest pocket looking for the night clothes that he brought with him. He hadn't even been in here since he put his bag in. He pulled out a slightly darker blue color of the night clothes he had wore on the Urado Case. Hopefully, this case wouldn't end up like that one.

He slipped on the clothing and made his way toward the bed beside Lin's. He slid beneath the covers making as little noise as possible. When he heard the breathing of Lin was still sound, he closed his eyes.

"**You do realize that I'm not asleep right**?" Lin said in perfect English.

Naru's eyes flashed open at the omnyoji across from him. He had him, as much as he hated to say it, completely fooled. Of course, he wasn't going to admit it.

"**I was in fact, I just thought that coming in and making noise in the middle of the night might be a little disrupting."**

Lin rolled his eyes and balanced him cheek on his shoulder. "**I woke up about half an hour ago when I got a phone call from someone. Also, did you say that you were going to bed at eleven?" **

Naru sighed when he knew the lecture was going to come. "**Yes, but who would watch the monitors?"**

Lin copied his movements and added an eye roll. "**That's why** **Professor Davis bought you new cameras with recording systems on them. You can't use that excuse anymore."**

Naru ignored Lin in an attempt to stop him from talking. After a minute of silence between the ninja men, Lin spoke again.

"**You said that who would watch the monitors? Does that mean that you woke someone else from sleeping?"**

Naru opened his eyes to glare momentarily at his psychic bodyguard. He closed them after he knew it was not going to do any good. Lin just sighed and rolled over. He closed his own eyes and wondered why his charge always had to work so hard.

'Maybe it's because he doesn't want to think about what he would normally think about.' Lin sighed.

Then the omnyoji put his thought to rest and went to sleep, oblivious of the fact his shiki were trying to warn him of a spirit.

Hovering right about the sleeping Naru stood a boy who looked eight years old. His dark hair shifted as he lent down next to Naru's head. He leaned close to his ear until he knew Naru could hear him.

"You better protect her Shibuya-san."

With that, the ghost disappeared.

* * *

**An: I am so sorry. I knew exactly what I wanted for this chapter, but I just couldn't get it out. I've been super busy, And I also found out that a childhood friend of mine has cancer. I don't even no what kind because everyone is keeping it from me.**

**Before I say anything else, I want to take time to recognize a certain person. Thank you Ghost loves Japan 77. This whole time, She has been supporting me and helping me through my grief. She is the only reason this chapter is out. Ghost hunter, ASa reward, Whenever you want a preview of the next chapter, All you have to do is ask. It is yours. Thank you.**

**Even though they knew nothing about it, My school friends that read this as well helped me. Yea you heard me. Thanks Tecson-san~! **

**Yea I'm done now. Thanks for reading. **

**Please leave a review!**

**-WhisperToTheWolves**


	25. Chapter 22

Chapter Twenty Two

Once is common, but Twice is for a Visit.

* * *

Mai winced as she popped a joint in her neck. There had been a slight temperature change in Naru's room shortly after he left the base. 'Left' being a nicer term. More like forced. The difference in temperaturehoever, hadn't lasted long. Mai thought nothing of it. However, She had gotten the feeling that her ears were burning… weird.

She rubbed the back of her neck gently as she took of her headphones and glanced at the monitors again. It was six in the morning and the others would be getting up soon. Hopefully, Naru was still fast asleep. He deserved all of the sleep he got.

The door to the base turned and Lin walked into the room. He looked like he had gotten a good nights rest. Lin was almost startled to see her.

"Taniyama-san? What are you doing up so early?" His eyes widened "Don't tell me Noll woke you up to replace him!"

Mai laughed and covered her mouth in a very Masako-like manner quickly. She removed her hand as her giggles began to vanish.

"No of course not. I was already awake."

Lin expression went from irritation to confusion. "He went to bed late. What were you doing up?"

Mai shrugged. "Couldn't sleep."

Lin watched her for a minute before walking over and sitting in the chair next to her. "Did something strange happen while we were asleep?"

Mai shook her head. "The temperature in your room dropped a few degrees at one point, but that was it."

Lin furrowed his brows. "Our room?"

Before Mai could say anything, Lin had picked up the spare headphones and placed them on top of his head. He rewound the recordings to the time that Naru had left the base. He raised a brow when he saw Naru tumbling out o the base door. To the left of him, Mai blushed a bright pink. Maybe she could delete the footage when nobody was watching…

Lin continued to watch Naru through the monitors as he walked to their bedroom. Mai turned away just in time to unknowingly skip around Naru's confused face. Lin raised an eyebrow. Just what happened to the two of them?

The Naru on the screen turned into the shared bedroom and from that point Lin switched to the audio. None of the people from SPR had cameras put in there room for privacy reasons. Although Naru did want to put one in each room…Mai's included. Of course he insisted it was for safety reasons only…..

Lin listened to the foot steps of his charge as he changed his clothing. They paused as he changed direction and walked to his bed. Slight creasing of the bed was heard and then Lin heard his own voice in English

"_**You do realize that I'm not asleep right?"**_

An annoyed huff was heard and Lin could just remember the look on his boss's face.

"_**I was in fact, I just thought that coming in and making noise in the middle of the night might be a little disrupting."**_

A scoff came from his own mouth as Lin also turned in his bed.

"_**I woke up about half an hour ago when I got a phone call from someone. Also, did you say that you were going to bed at eleven?" **_

Lin heard Naru sigh and he smirked. He was so going to lecture him next time.

"_**Yes, but who would watch the monitors?"**_

Lin rolled his eyes, forgetting that he had done that in the video as well.

"_**That's why Professor Davis bought you new cameras with recording systems on them. You can't use that excuse anymore."**_

Lin waited a moment to listen for the words that he knew were to come.

"_**You said that who would watch the monitors? Does that mean that you woke someone else from sleeping?"**_

An irritated sigh was heard as well as the squeaking of a bed. Lin tensed. This was the part that he was really after.

The audio began to get glitchy and the omnyoji strained to hear.

"_You better protect her Shibuya-san." _

Lin tensed as everything went quiet. The voice was one of a young child, probably a boy. The heat detector in the room had recoded that at this point in time the temperature went down. After a few moments, it went up. Lin took the headphones off and placed them next to Mai's undone English homework. He ignored it for the time being as he raised his hand to his chin.

"But who is he talking about…..?"

Mai looked up from a page of the homework she was working on. "What is who talking about?"

Lin paused his mussing as he turned to his coworker. "It seems that there was a ghost in Noll and my room last night. However, we were both sleeping so we did not hear it. The camera caught it though."

Mai tilted her head. "Oh sorry. I didn't know." When Lin shook his head in a dismissing and forgiving act, Mai spoke again. "Can I listen to it?

Lin nodded and rewound the audio to the point where he had just finished talking. He handed the set to Mai as she scooted a bit closer and put her homework down. She listened intently and shock shown in her eyes. She looked up at Lin.

"How did he get in there without me noticing? He was right next to Naru!" She hissed.

Lin noticed that her face went from startled to angry in mere seconds.

"I don't know Taniyama-san. Don't over think it. It's not your fault. In reality, I would have done the same in your position."

Mai shook her head. "No it was foolish." She set down the headset short of a slam and started to walk to the base door.

"Taniyama-san! It's quite alright! Don't go out of the base by yourself."

Mai continued to walk to the door. As she opened the door, she turned to Lin.

"I'm making tea, want some?"

"Taniyama-san! Please don't-!"

"I'm making tea Lin-san." Mai whispered. "Want some?"

Lin pinched the bridge of his brow. "No thank you."

Mai left the base feeling upset, frustrated, and slightly guilty. It wasn't Lin's fault she didn't catch her own mistake. It was entirely hers.

Her mistake put Naru in danger.

* * *

Lin watched Mai carefully as she headed toward the kitchen. He knew that she was not mad at him, but at herself. Naru had done this so many times in the past that Lin was able to recognize the same expression on Mai's face.

Her pride as ghost hunter was what caused Mai to be upset. Normally, she didn't care for such things, but when it came to Naru, she was unforgiving. She had over looked a small mistake and she was blaming herself for it when in reality, Lin was to blame.

If Lin hadn't been so tired and unaware of his surroundings, then he would have been able to sense the spirit in the room even while he was asleep.

Lin continuously followed Mai with his eyes. Even if she was mad at herself, he would not let her get hurt. Mai was one of the first people to knock down his shield just as Madoka and Naru had done before.

Mai walked to the kitchen and came back without a hitch.

Mai bowed deeply as she entered the base. Lin sighed silently in what was to come.

"I'm terribly sorry if I seemed snappy earlier. I should not have taken my frustration out on you, when it really was me who I was mad at. Please forgive me."

Lin shook his head. "Taniyama-san, there is no reason to apologize. As I said before, it is not your fault."

Mai smiled. "Thank you. By the way, I totally ignored you. I made you tea anyway."

Lin shook his head and sighed is disbelief as he took a hand on the teacup. "Only you Taniyama-san. Only you."

Mai huffed "What is that supposed to mean!?"

Lin just chuckled and went back to monitoring the screens.

* * *

The light streamed in through the window in the bedroom. Naru groaned and turned away from the blinding light. When that didn't work, He lifted one of his pillows and placed it over his head. This blocked out the rest of the sunlight.

Wait… sunlight?

Naru sat upright in his bed in record time. There shouldn't be sunlight this early. Naru blinked as he remembered the events of last night, or rather morning. He glanced at the clock. It was only twelve thirty…..

WAIT , Twelve thirty!?

Naru jumped out of his bed and ran to his suit case. He jumped into the shower and quickly washed his hair and body. In a timer faster than Mai ever had, he got his clothing on and walked quickly out of his room.

He rounded the last corner and walked into the base.

Inside was his team. Nobody had noticed him enter. All were doing tasks, proving the reliable team that they were.

Yasu was standing next to Lin reading something off a sheet of paper, no doubt information. Mai was sitting at the monitors, headphones on and alternated between looking at the monitors and doing her English homework. Masako was sitting on the couch with John with a serious expression on her face. A newspaper was in her hand. It was a slight yellow color. John nodded; his expression had lost its usual nervousness. Monk was absent from the group, probably out getting lunch or searching the house.

Mai looked up at Naru when she noticed movement from the corner of her eye.

"Hey Naru, did you get some good sleep?"

Naru nodded and everyone turned to him. Even Lin had a slightly concerned look that only he noticed.

"What about you Mai? Surely you went to bed."

Mai rolled her eyes and turned back to her work. "Naru I have been in here the whole time except to make tea. Of course not. Duh."

Naru twitched. "Lin, how long have you been awake?"

Lin averted his eyes to the sheet of paper Yasu had just handed him. "Since six."

Naru watched in irritation as Mai shot Lin a glare. "Mai, Lin could have watched the monitors while you got some sleep. Do not say that you had no chance to sleep."

Mai glared at him. "You were the one that was so concerned about making sure that the monitors were watched while they had RECORDING SYTEMS! I found that little tad bit when Lin rewound some footage."

Naru ignored her obvious insult. "Go get some sleep."

Mai glared some more. "No! I'm staying here." She pouted.

Naru turned his twitch into a glare. "Mai. You have not slept in almost twenty four hours. Go get some rest."

Mai smirked and turned away from him. "Nope~!" She then began working on page thirty five of fifty pages of her English homework.

Naru twitched. He gritted his teeth slightly. "Whatever. You are free to do as you wish."

Mai's smirk became bigger as Naru dropped the subject.

Meanwhile, the rest of the team watched gawking, besides Lin and John. Lin looked bored, as if this happened everyday. John was smiling slightly. '_Was Naru caring about Mai's wellbeing? Maybe he had begun to realize it'_ John thought to himself.

Mai stood up and stretched. "I'm going to go find Monk. Anyone know where he went?" She asked.

Masako stopped her gawking and turned to her best friend. "I believe that he went to go get lunch for all of us."

Mai pouted. "Really? That sucks because I'm bored."

Naru turned away from Lin. "Then go to bed. It will give you something to do."

Mai glared at him. "But I can't! Plus, I'll be alone."

Naru rolled his eyes. "Use your brain Mai. You can sleep on the couch in the base."

"But I want to sleep in my room!"

"I told you that you are not to be alone while on this case, or have you already forgotten that?"

Mai glared at him. "I did not forget! I'm going to get my pillow! Jeez, why do you have to be such a jerk Naru!?"

With that, she stormed out of the base. Naru was going to follow her, had he not been stopped by someone's hand. Lin leaned down and whispered in his ear.

"Taniyama-san was very worried about you this morning. It's in her best interests if you are well and healthy. You can ignore me, or believe, that is your decision. Taniyama-san cares for you Noll."

Naru studied the Chinese man for any sign that he was lying. With a sigh, Lin let go of his charge's arm. Then Naru did something that shocked the whole group.

He bowed his head slightly in respect at Lin, before leaving the room.

Everyone was silent as Yasu turned to Lin. "What the heck did you tell big boss?!"

The rest of the group waited for an answer until Lin's lips curved slightly upward.

"Isn't that something that you want to know? To bad I'm not going to tell you."

Masako and Yasu immediately sulked and Yasu dropped into the nearest chair.

"Mean, Mean Lin-san~!" Yasuhara pouted.

* * *

Mai walked down the halls, her feet stomping the ground hard.

"Where does he get off talking to me like that?!" she huffed.

She turned the corner and almost walked straight into a bookcase. Mai blinked. Her vison had started to get cloudy, but she instead ignored it.

"Why the heck would someone put a bookcase in the middle of a hallway?!" Mai hissed.

"So that everyone could read the books Mai. What do you think its for?"

Mai whirled around to face her boss that always seemed to pop in on her. "You know what? I think-"

Mai stumbled slightly, causing Naru to take a step forward. Mai shook her head trying to clear the decrease of her sight.

"Mai are you alright?"

Mai stumbled again and clutched her head. "Something's wrong." She mumbled. Her head felt light and her eyes were swimming. The world was beginning to blur as she tried to focus her sight.

"I can't hear you Mai. Speak up." Naru said. His face was pinched with worry. He took another step forward, almost two feet from her.

Mai would have answered him, that is, if the floor and darkness hadn't rushed up to meet her. She felt the pull of a spirit before it was completely black.

"MAI!"

* * *

**An: I thought you guys deserved this, so I worked by butt off to provide it for you! Please Review!**

**Also, just out of curiosity, Who do you think is the ghost? XD**

**Not much to say….. I'll try to update on Monday!**

**-WhisperToTheWolves**


	26. Chapter 23

Chapter Twenty Three

A Lecture from the Dead

**(Disclaimer: Would you believe me if I did? Sweet~!)**

* * *

_The doctor rubbed his unshaved chin lightly before he opened the door. He was told that he was in a dangerous position, taking care of one of the most mentally unstable boys. So far, an unfortunate 'accident' on his tongue was the main problem. He wasn't able to speak, and since then strange things would happen to the doctors that went near him. That had been announced three weeks ago._

_On the other side of the room, Mai watched the scene with interest. She could tell even without being there what the man's thoughts were. Almost as if she was listening to a story in her head. _

_Then the 'story' stopped. Apparently she wouldn't need to know anymore. The male doctor was extra cautious of the room he had just stepped into. He looked at all the walls and ceilings, as if he knew he was going to be attacked. A boy rested on a white sterile bed, asleep._

_The doctor stepped firmly on the ground and Mai's eyes widened. The doctor leaned into his foot and slipped. He hit the ground with a hard thump groaning in pain. _

_Mai ran to him and placed a hand on his shoulder, ignoring the instinct telling her not to. _

_Mai gasped as she was sucked into the man's body. Suddenly, she was on the floor and looking up at the foot of the bed. Above her, a boy was leaning over the bed looking down at the man, smirking. The boy lifted a hand an extended it toward the man._

_The doctor gasped and tried to scoot away from the crazed boy. For some reason though, Mai got the feeling this was fake. The boy couldn't act like that could he? In her last dream, all he wanted was his mother and to be free from the asylum. The boy continued to smirk and the doctor ran from the room._

_Mai gasped as she was yanked from the body. She lay panting at the floor with Gene standing above her. He glared at her for a minute before helping her up. When she started to say something, he shushed her silently. He pointed to the boy sitting at the bed. _

_Mai's eyes glistened in understanding and confusion. She was still in the vision?_

_She watched the boy as he dropped his smirk and curled up into a ball. Sobs echoed throughout the white room and Mai felt sorry for the boy._

"_Why?!" He cried to himself. "Why do I see them?! I didn't ask for this. Mommy! Come get me…Please…"_

_Eventually the boy began to nod off and the vision faded._

_Mai and Gene landed on the astral plane with a hard thump. The both stood and dusted themselves off. Gene turned toward Mai and she got the feeling that she was going to regret something. Gene's angry expression returned in an instant. He swiftly walked over to Mai and hit her on the head._

"_Ouch! Gene, What was that for!?" Mai rubbed the back of her aching head._

_Gene just glared harder at her. "For being stupid! You know that you are not supposed to touch the people in those memories! You aura combines with their aura! If you do that for to long, you will cease to exist. Luckily, I was able to pull you out." He took a deep breath in his ranting to scowl at her. "You're just lucky I don't tell Noll."_

_Mai winced. That would be bad. She could already see his face now and the cold shoulder she would receive. After the harsh lecture of course. _

_Gene sighed when he saw Mai's face of guilt. He held out his hand "Just promise you won't do it again."_

_Mai sighed and met her hand with his. "Fine. I promise I won't ever touch a person in a vision ever again."_

_Gene nodded. "Good." They both released hands._

_Gene paused for a minute and turned to her. "Um Mai…. You do realize that that was a memory not a vision." He laughed. Mai blushed slightly and nodded. A long silence then followed._

_Mai shifted awkwardly. "So umm… When am I going back?"_

_Gene tilted his head as he thought. "No idea. Probably a while though because I can't send you back right now."_

_Mai twitched her hands. "How come?"_

_Gene sighed and laid down on the invisible floor of the astral plane. "Before you went into that vision, I was talking to Noll. When I sensed you were in trouble, I left against his energy and got you out of the Docs body. That used a lot of my energy and I'm using yours right now."_

_Mai blinked. "Mine?"_

_Gene nodded. "Normally I don't have to, But when I'm out, I use your energy to appear to you." He placed his arms behind his head. "That's how a lot of spirits do it actually. I had a lot of energy in life so I guess I'm using it now."_

_Mai flinched. She had almost forgotten that the teen she was talking to now was not alive anymore. Gene continued his words, not noticing Mai's reaction._

"_When I run out, I'll probably pass on or fade away. I don't want to use your energy as much as I can." Mai shut her eyes. She did not want to think about Gene leaving. He was like her brother and he was her guide. But she knew that it would happen eventually. _

_Mai flinched again and Gene noticed. He shut his mouth. Maybe he shouldn't talk about being dead. That was still a sore spot for Mai and Noll._

_Noll. Gene sighed silently. _

_Ever since Naru had had the death vision of Gene, he had worn black. Even when Gene told him to wear color, Naru only said he was wearing it because it was his favorite color, nothing more. Gene's favorite color was black, while Naru's was grey. Before Gene had died, Naru still didn't wear a lot of color. Blues, grey, and even some greens, but never red, yellow, or purple._

_Now Naru just wore black all the time. No matter how much Gene told him to grieve and move on, Naru hung on to the past like it was his lifeline. Slowly over time, He was moving though. The cause was one person. This person was slowly changing the way that he lived. _

_Mai Taniyama._

_Said girl was twisting her fingers in and out with one another. Gene sighed. His thinking could wait a little longer._

"_Alright, I guess you can go back now, since I am feeling sleepy again." He said with a yawn_

_Mai looked up at him with concern. "Sleepy? Your tierd? How come?"_

_Gene sighed. "That doesn't matter, lets just get you back."_

_Mai sighed and stood up. She got the feeling that she was going to be…_

_Just as she thought, Gene placed his hand on her forehead and pushed her backward. Mai gasped as she heard Gene's laughter slowly sink away. She sat up as she crashed into her body._

* * *

Monk jumped back as Mai sat up suddenly. He tried to steady his fast heartbeat as Mai breathed in deep breathes. She blinked several times as she put a hand to slow her own beating heart. When she finally noticed that Monk was sitting next to her, she turned to him.

"H-how long have I been out?"

Monk sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "It's about two thirty, so almost two hours. The team and I were expecting you to stay asleep a lot longer."

Mai shrugged. "Hey, I'm not the one who controls that sort of stuff."

Monk rolled his eyes. "Right….."

Mai glared at him. "I'm not!"

A squeak of the chair was heard and Mai looked at an omnyoji sitting in a chair. It was only at this point that Mai realized she was in the base.

"Oh hey Lin. Where are the others?" Mai asked with a tilt of her head.

Lin turned back to the monitors for a second before answering her question. "Noll is showing everyone there rooms that they will rest in. Afterward he said that he was going to show them what they would be doing."

Mai's glares returned and she shifted her gaze to the unsuspecting wall. "Work-o-holic…."

Lin shrugged. "He will do what he want."

Mai sighed. "No body can stop him anyways. By the way, how did I get into the base?"

Lin barely stopped himself from smiling. "Noll carried you here after you collapsed in the hallway."

Mai's face instantly turned red and she squeaked slightly. "He-e did? Why?!"

Lin had to concentrate to keep his grin away. "No one else was in your company at the time. He said that you suddenly collapsed. He voiced his thoughts that the spirit might have gotten a hold of you. That is also why Takigawa and I are in the base watching you."

"OOOh~!" Mai dragged out in understanding before she shrugged. "Well it wasn't that. I was just having a dream."

Lin rolled his eyes and turned back to the monitors. "That means that Noll in right and the spirit had come to you."

Mai furrowed her brows as she swung her feet off the edge of the couch that she was laying on. "What? That doesn't make any sense!"

Lin would have explained had the monk not beat him to it. "Actually it does. Spirits show you your visions right? That means that you either astral projected again, or the spirit possessed you and showed you its memories."

Mai tilted her head as she thought it over in silence. Monk sighed to himself thinking that he was going to have to tell the ghost magnet a different way. Before he could say anything though, she hummed and nodded.

"I see it now." She said.

Monk couldn't resist himself from teasing his sister like figure. "Oh Mai-chan~! You just now figured it out? Is what Naru said about your intelligence true?"

Mai wiped around so fast that the males thought she might get whip lash. "MONK! Your so mean to me. That's it! I'm never-"

The door to the base opened and Naru came walking in with Masako. When the medium saw Mai she smiled and hurried over to her best friend.

"Mai! Are you okay!?"

Mai smiled at her overly concerned friend. "I'm fine Masako. It was just a dream, that's all."

Masako tilted her head. "What as it about?"

Mai focused hard to remember the first dream before Gene appeared to her. "Lets see…." She turned to Naru who was next to Lin. Lin already had his laptop out, ready to type.

"There was a doctor that was going into a white room. Inside, the same boy in my other dream was sitting on a bed. He was smiling at the doctor. Suddenly, the doctor fell, although nothing was below him." Mai paused thinking of the next words to say. "Then when the doctor looked up to the foot of the bed, the boy was leaning over the side. He had a rally creepy smile….Then the doctor freaked and left the room. Can't say I blame him."

"Was there anything else?" Naru intelligently inquired.

"Um yea." Mai said "After the doctor left, the boy curled up in a ball and started crying. He said something along the lines of 'Why can I see them? I didn't ask for this.' Then he started crying for him mom." Mai trailed off as she left the words sink in with the group.

"Good." Naru said "You remembered the details this time. When Yasuhara-san comes back, he will go and research the background of this matter."

Mai could feel her face of irritation this time sink into place. "What do you mean this time? I'm usual accurate with my dreams!"

Naru turned away from Mai and decided not to answer her. This in turn, made Mai more irritated. She huff and lifted her chin defiantly.

When the base turned into an awkward silence, Mai dropped her expression and broke the soundless room.

"Speaking of Yasu, where are he and John?"

"Yasuhara-san and Brown-san are checking in the basement and attic to see if anything suspicious lies there. This was suggested after Brown-san said there might be something here like the tunnels file."

"Oh." Mai said. After that, the base turned suddenly quiet excepet for the typing on Lin's computer. Mai was going to interjet, if the door to the base had not been slammed open.

A girl in black hair sashes into the room. Her face was so familiar, that Mai had to wonder where she had seen the girl before. Instantly, bad feelings began to form in the pit of Mai's stomach.

The girl's green eyes lit up like a Christmas tree when she saw Naru.

"Handsome~! So you did come to my house to see me~!"

Naru recognized the girl and the death glare that had occupied him face returned. The girl lunged at Naru and grabbed him around the arm. Mai's blood turned cold and for once, she had the strong urge to rip the girl's embrace from Naru. This was the same girl that caused her to trip and fall on the day before her parent's anniversary.

Yasu and John apparently decided to return to base at this exact time. They watched in confusion at the girl that was on Naru's arm. The girl turned to the rest of the team, ignoring Mai completely. She especially turned to wink at Yasu and John

"Hello everyone~! My name is Saki Tachibana and I'm going to marry this man!"

* * *

**(An: You know, I really hate to leave you off at cliffhangers like this. I get the feeling that they make you mad….**

**Does this chapter feel strange to any of you? I didn't have half of it planned out, so it might have turned out weird…. I do have the next one planned, so it shouldn't be like this one…**

**By the way, I have a special deal for the lot of you! If you can beat the maximum number of reviews you have given me for a chapter, [Highest: 15] I will update in three days! Can you guys make it to 16?**

**Let the competition begin!)**

**-WhisperToTheWolves**


	27. Chapter 24

Chapter Twenty Four

Drama to the Mix

(**Disclaimer: I do not own Ghost Hunt, Although it would be a good birthday present, As my birthday was Monday.)**

* * *

The base room was silent until the famous narcissus asked the question hanging in the air. The one that Mai thought would kill her to ask herself.

"Who would be the one to say that information?" He bit out, barely restraining himself from throwing the annoying girl off his arm.

Saki fluttered her eyelashes up at him. "Why I did of course. I'll ask father, and we will go and get married."

Naru narrowed his eyes as the rest of the team stared dumbstruck, excluding Lin. This girl was going to make Naru snap. His face tensed and his hands clenched. Too late. This girl was doomed.

"I don't think I EVER recall," Naru bit "That I ever was or wanted to marry you."

Saki let go of his arm and took a few steps back, her eyes were wide. Just like at the park, he had head on rejected her. Why?

"B-but," she stumbled. "We could be happy a-and-." At this point, Naru cut off her speech.

"I would never spend my life with someone such as your self."

Mai was too shocked to say anything, but she heard Yasu behind her quietly say

"Need some ice for that burn." This of coarse set Masako off in giggles.

Mai's lips twitched at their antics. Whether it was because she was annoyed or amused, she wasn't sure. Before she wasted time deciding, she latched her attention on to her boss and the girl that fancied him. She ignored the two behind her as she knew; she would get an ear full of it later.

Unsurprisingly, Naru was still glaring at Saki in a hopeless way to get rid of her. Meanwhile, Saki's facial expressions kept changing from hurt to annoyance, anger, and back to seductive like before.

Before Mai could help it, she was giggling slightly at the foolish girls antics. There was no way that Naru would fall for someone as low as her. She after all tried to harm his assistant, whether she had known at the time or not.

Naru stormed out of the base in anger and high annoyance. Did that book just wiggle?

Saki attempted to follow him, when she Mai's giggling form caught her attention. She went rigged and stopped her pursuit after Naru. Her emerald green eyes tried to burn holes through Mai.

Mai rolled her eyes and began to walk to the side of the room where her English homework still laid, nobody removing it.

"Oh great," Saki rolled her eyes "It's you again. I should have known that you were coming to stop him."

At this point, Mai could feel her irritation bar rise at the girl's comment. "I'm sorry, but the man that you just tried to hit on is my boss. I work with him, so that means on cases I go with him." In the background, Yasu snickered at her words.

To Saki, this seemed like a stab to her lungs. It seemed like Mai was trying to point out that she got close contact with the man that Saki liked, when in fact, she was just pointing out a fact.

Saki narrowed her eyes. "This is my home. You may have one at that crummy flower shop, but you won't win here. I will be the one to win his heart."

With that, Saki slinked out of the room like the conniving feline that she was. Mai rolled her eyes. What an idiotic girl.

"Naru is a person. He is not just some object to be won." She murmured to herself. Luckily, no one heard her.

Mai blinked and suddenly realized that the rest of the team (excluding Masako and Yasu) had just stood there and watched the drama.

"Taniyama-san?" Lin asked with a curious tint to his tone. "How do you know Tachibana-san's daughter?"

Mai blinked as she flushed a bit in embarrassment. "Naru and I ran into her outside of the office. She took a fancy to him immediately." Right after the explanation, Lin had an intense vision of Naru stabbing Saki in the back of the neck with a pen, black of course. He should probably figure out a cover story for that…after all Tachibana-san would not take kindly to the lead investigator jabbing a writing utensil into the carotid artery of his daughter.** (An: See the bottom for information on the carotid artery)**

Yasu's never ending smirk grew wider. "So, Mai-chan, what were you doing with Naru outside of the office."

Even Lin looked interested in the conversation. Mai groaned internally. Should she just tell them the reason, or should she just say that it was none of their business? She decided with the later.

She tilted her head slightly and stuck out her tongue, face scrunched slightly as she did so. "None of your business!"

Lin sighed and turned back to some information of the case. She obviously didn't want to talk about it. Monk on the other hand wasn't going to take no for an answer. He pounced at her and held her arms behind her back before she could even squeak in surprise. Yasu, and Masako looked amused. John looked worried.

"M-monk! Let me go!"

"Ah Takigawa-san, Maybe you shouldn't do that-!" Monk ignored John and wedged a noogie into his sister's head.

Mai frantically turned to the only person that might help her. "Lin, SAVE ME!"

Lin turned to his coworker before he looked at Monk. "Takigawa."

Chills ran up the monks back as he remembered the same voice being used on him in the past. Flash backs of when he decided to use Lin's phone ran in his mind.

"Y-yes Lin-san?" He said, suddenly very respectful.

"Let go of Taniyama-san. Noll will most likely not be in the best of moods when he comes back."

Monk gulped. "Of course. Whatever you wish." He cast one glance at Mai in defeat before he sighed and leaned against the wall.

Mai rubbed her sore head and watched as Lin walked over to the monitors and sat down. Mai approached him nervously. The rest of the team followed her with there eyes. She could almost feel them wanting to the details out of her.

"I'm going to make tea; do you want to come with me? Naru said I wasn't allowed to go by myself."

Lin thought to himself. Naru would kill him if anything happened to Mai. "Give me a minute."

Mai smiled in victory before she grabbed her jacket. She waited at the door waiting for Lin to finish whatever he was doing. Meanwhile, she was feeling the stare of the rest of the team, even John.

After an eternity (five minutes) Lin stood us and head out of the door. He whispered something to John as he grabbed a walki talki. It was so low that Mai couldn't hear anything. John nodded and smiled.

"Don't worry about it Mate!"

Lin nodded and together he and Mai left the base.

Mai thought that the walk to the kitchen would be one filled of silence, considering that she was walking with Lin. He was the person known for not talking in SPR. Even Naru talked more that he did.

Hushed whispers rushed into Mai's ears and she thought that omnyoji was talking to himself. He looked at her at the same time with a raised eyebrow. The whispers continued as Mai watched Lin's mouth remain motionless. She shifted to a confused expression.

Lin watched as Mai turned to him looking confused and surprised. Why was she staring at him? A wiz sounded past his ear and he turned his head to look at his servants that would serve him for the rest of his life.

They looked anxious and murmured among themselves in a language he did not know.

"Lin-san, what is that?"

Lin raised his eyebrow higher into his scalp. "I thought that you could see my shiki."

Mai looked even more confused. "Your shiki…. Can talk?"

Lin continued to walk, pausing momentarily to answer." They are creatures too."

Mai blushed slightly and thought to herself that maybe Naru was rubbing a bit off on Lin. "Yea I know that, but why can I hear-"

Mai stopped her talking immediately as they rounded a bend and saw their boss at the end of the hall. She froze. Had he heard any of that?

She sighed in relief when she saw that he was talking to Kaito. Lin stopped his pace and waited for the two of the to finish the topic that they were discussing. Mai followed suit.

"Tachibana-san, I was aware of the fact that you had a daughter, but I was unknowing of the fact that she was on the premises."

Since the older man was facing there direction, she could see his face clearly. "Yes I do. Her name is Saki. Is there something wrong with her?" The man's face clearly showed worry.

"There is nothing to suggest that she will come to harm, she might."

Mai hadn't heard any more new information that put Saki in danger. Mai may hate the girl, but if Saki's life was in danger…

She looked up at Lin in hopes of an explanation. Before she could even ask the question, Lin's face twitched in a smirk and he shook his head. Mai turned back to Naru. Naru was lying? Understandable, but he had never done it, well as far as she had heard.

"Is she in danger? Might I ask if she is being a nuisance? She tends to do that to some of our guests."

Naru's eye twitched, even thought that neither Mai nor Lin could see. Not that he knew they were there. "There is a thought in her mind that she would like to attach herself into a romantic relationship with myself."

Kaito's eyes widened and he bowed deeply. "Please excuse her! I'm sorry Shibuya-san! I will try to find a place for her to stay immediately. She does this sometimes, but I was not expecting it to happen to you and your team. Please excuse me." With that, he scurried out of the room and Mai got the faintest feeling that Saki wouldn't like how Naru had talked to her father. On the other hand, if she thought that Mai talked to him…

When Kaito left the room, Lin cleared his throat slightly to let Naru know that they were there. Naru jerked slightly and nodded at them.

"Where are you two heading?"

Mai rubbed her hands as her boss finally turned to look at Mai and Lin. "We were on our way to make tea. I asked if Lin-san could go with me, because you said that I wasn't allowed to be alone."

Naru studied her for a minute before nodding. "That is correct." He turned to Lin.

"I'll take it from here." Lin noddedA static voice came from the walki talki and Lin pulled it off his belt. He stopped moving jut in time to hear John's voice come through. "Lin-san? Is there a problem where you are? I hear static coming through the walki talki. I'd rather be able to hear then not when the time comes."

Lin sighed. He was about to speak through the machine, if laughter had not come streaming through. From the voices, it was Yasuhara and Masako. Static once again insured and Lin sighed. He turned toward his charge.

"I'm going back to base to clear up any miscommunications. With that he turned around and walked away. Mai's smile unknowingly appeared.

"Want to continue to the kitchen Naru?" When he started walking in the direction of the kitchen, Mai's smile widened. She skipped ahead of him to prepare the tea for him.

By the time that Naru had reached the kitchen, the kettle was on the stove and the teacups on the counter. Mai was on her tippy toes trying to reach the tea box that lay on the top shelf of the nearest cabinet. Her fingers just brushed the bottom of the board. Naru could have smirked or sighed. He was sure. He decided to go with the latter for the reasons of his character. He walked over behind Mai.

Mai had just begun to touch the very bottom of the tea box to inch it toward her, when she felt a presence behind her. She squeaked as she could feel the heat of her boss radiating off of him from behind her. He leaned forward and grabbed the box.

When he backed away, he handed it to Mai. Her face was bright red. He smirked.

"Something wrong Mai?"

Mai's face went darker as he leaned against the counter with the tea cups.

"N-nothing at all!" she squeaked. She tried to put as much space between herself and her boss as she could. On the inside, Naru's smirk grew.

The kettle started to whistle. Mai quickly put the tea leaves in the cups before placing the boiling water inside. Slowly, Mai's blush faded and she looked up at her boss with calculating eyes. She slowly stirred a cube of sugar into each of there drinks.

"Hey Naru, how come you asked Tachibana-san to get Saki to leave?" As she said this, she tried to ease the wave of irritation already radiating off of Naru by placing a tea cup next to him. He took it without a word.

"She is a hindrance to our investigation. She would not gain anything in romantic nature from me either."

Mai almost smirked in victory. "That makes sense. That's what I thought anyway."

Naru turned his eyes to Mai as she sipped her own teacup with a smile on her face. Why was she smiling? Sure Saki was annoying and all….

"What happens if she doesn't leave?" Naru shrugged slightly. "Then I will ask Tachibana-san to ban her from the base."

Mai shrugged. "Okay." The room once again was shot into silence as they finished there tea. Naru placed his empty cup on the counter and Mai picked it up. She quickly rinsed out both cups and placed them in the sink. Naru leaned off his spot on the counter and started to walk toward the direction on the base. He turned when he saw Mai hadn't started to follow him.

"Come on Mai. We are going back to base."

Mai nodded and rubbed the back of her head in an embarrassing fashion. "Uh… Yea… But first, can you show me the room that I am supposed to sleep in tonight? I really don't want to sleep on the base couch again."

Naru tilted his head slightly, but not enough for Mai to notice. "Yes. Your bag is in there too, so you may unpack."

Mai smiled, still embarrassed. The two of them continued to walk in the direction of the base. However, on the last bend, the two of the made a right instead of a left. They made there way down the unfamiliar hall and Naru stopped at a door and put a hand on the door knob. "This one is yours."

Before Mai had time to respond, Naru had already opened the door and walked in. Mai sighed and followed.

The interior of the room was very bright. The windows were drawn open and even though it was almost five o clock, the sun streamed through gently. The breeze flittered the green bed sheets lightly. A light blue dresser next to the windows caught Mai's attention as she looked at the cream colored walls.

"Wow." Mai gasped. "I wish my bedroom was like this!"

Naru rolled his eyes. "You can. It just required work."

Mai rolled her own eyes in return. "Actually, Mr. know it all, I was talking about the sunlight too. The angle of the sun is perfect."

Mai spotted a door on the other side of the bed. She smiled slightly as she rushed to see what was on the other side. She opened the door and saw a large bathroom big enough to fit a kind size bed. Her jaw dropped. There was a separate shower and bathtub for personal use. The sink was edged with different types of soaps. She spotted her black bag on the ground near the tub, but ignored it for the time being. She skipped over to the painting that hung just behind the toilet. Stars and swirls covered the board in colors of white, blue, yellow, and green. A black tower hovered over a black city.

"Wow! It's so pretty!" Mai chirped. She turned to Naru that stood in the door way. "Do you know what the name of it is?" **(AN: If you can guess the name, I'll let you have a preview. I think I did an okay job of describing it.)**

Naru shook his head. "I would have to look it up. I don't remember off the top of my head. It very famous though."

Mai nodded. Her gaze landed on her neglected bag and she sighed. The part she hated worse about a ghost hunting trip. Unpacking. She groaned.

Naru raised and eyebrow. "What?"

Mai pointed to her bag. "I forgot that I had to unpack."

Naru rolled his eyes. "If you hurry, it won't take long and we can go back to the base again."

Mai gave him a scowl. "Easy for you to say. Guys never have as much as girls." Naru looked at her as if to say. 'Whose fault would that be?'

Mai just continued to sulk in front of the black container. She sighed. As usual, he was right. "Fine I'll just-"

A whoosh of cold air fluttered through as Naru passed her. She was about to ask what he was doing, when the bag in front of her was carried off into the next room.

"Mou! Naru what are you doing?"

Naru set the bag down near the dresser as Mai came back in. The slight blush that still lingered on her cheeks turned darker as Naru sat on the edge of her bed. **(An: Complain all you want fan girls, it's not what you think.) **He lifted an eyebrow as he looked at Mai.

"Are you going to start? I assume you want to eat in the next century." Mai scowled and turned her back toward him.

"Jerk! Jeez why are you so mean?!"

Naru laid his back flush against the bed. "I'm not mean, I'm realistic."

Mai huffed again. "Right, I'll believe that when Monk grows wings."

Naru closed his eyes and put his arms behind his head. "Technically, that's not impossible. If his DNA was fused with a birds, and then he was subjected to radiation, he might grow wings."

Mai stared at Naru in horror. "How come you can think of that?! And what are the likes of that happening?"

Naru ignored the statement and hummed. "Can you just start unpacking?"

It was silent for a few minutes. Mai opened her drawer and began to put her shirts into one of the sides. She hummed herself a small tune that popped into her head. Naru listened to it as he almost dozed to sleep. It sounded so strangely familiar. Naru shook his head and sat up. No time to go to sleep. Might as well use the time that he has.

He looked at Mai and stifled a yawn. "Mai, did you feel any malicious intent coming from the boy in your dream. I know that you said he was crying, but he might have been mentally unstable."

Mai dropped one of the shirts that she was holding and stared up in shock at Naru. "Naru! He was crying! How…." She took a deep breath. Naru was just doing his job. Naru was just doing his job….

"He had no bad feelings coming from him as far as I could tell. He just seemed really sad."

Naru nodded and rubbed his eye when Mai put the shirt she dropped away. "So you don't think that he is the cause of this case? Do you think that it was the woman?"

Mai hesitated before shaking her head. "I really don't know. The woman didn't take part in my dream since the first one…"

Naru stood up. "I believe you. Just remember, Tell me when any thought comes to your mind. It could be important."

Mai smiled as she put the rest of her clothing. She looked up at Naru from the floor. "Thank you. I'll tell you anything that I think of."

Naru was going to say something else, but a knock on the door was heard. Naru took the few steps and opened the door once again.

On the other side, Masako and John stood with different expressions. Masako had a smile on her face as she glanced back between Mai and Naru. John looked relieved.

"There you are mates!" John said enthusiastically. "Lin said that we should go look for you since you didn't come back from the kitchen."

Mai rubbed the back of her head. "Sorry. I asked Naru to take me back to my room because I didn't know where it was."

Masako nodded. "That's perfectly fine." She gave a secret smirk to Mai. Almost as if to say. 'Sure that's it.'

Masako laughed, leaving Naru and John slightly confused. John looked at Naru and shrugged. Masako snickered as she and John left Mai's room.

Mai was flushed slightly. Naru turned back to her with a raised eyebrow. "You know what that was all about. Mai nodded rapidly. Her hair fluttered around her face.

Naru raised his other eyebrow. "And?"

Mai shook her head sideways, causing most of her hair to cover her face. Naru sighed as he walked over to the blushing teen. She raised her head to see her crush's face in front of her face. She gave a sheepish grin as she placed her hand in his. Naru lifted her off of the floor.

Mai dusted herself off as Naru waited by the door. How did she wind up in a skirt again? Now she would have to change later. She walked over to her boss as he waited patiently. They both left simultaneously and followed Masako and John back to base.

* * *

**The following is from my best friend for all of you interested readers~!**

_Translation by DiamondInMyHeart *The carotid artery supplies the head and neck with oxygenated blood, this artery is a vital artery and if cut the person would bleed out in a short matter of minutes and die. It really depends on how deep the cut is into the artery but, either way, when that artery is cut, that person's life is at great risk and they need to be rushed to the emergency room. Because of the lack of oxygen to the brain, this will cause the person to faint or go into a coma depending on how much blood loss and this could also cause permanent brain damage. For first aid there really isn't much you can do unless you have medical instruments and can clamp the artery shut to stoop the blood loss. If this is a real situation and you are seeking answers from the internet and this person hasn't been seen by an emergency technician then this person is already dead. Clammy skin and shaking are the result of too much blood loss. P.S. Google is very useful. : )_

**(Some times she scares me…)**

**I will make it up to you. I swear. You guys gave me 21 reviews when I only asked for 16. Thank you so much! I will make give you proper thanks for waiting so long. I tired to make this chapter longer for you guys. I couldn't update because of my stupid brother. Hogging the freaking computer for W.O.W…. jeez! **

**I mean I like it too, but I don't play it all the freaking time like he does. **

**I will give you guys an early chapter when I can. End of the year testing has started, so I don't have much time because I'm studying… I'll work on this whenever I can. **

**I got two requests to write news stories plus this one. That flatters me! XD I'm working on one of them. I'll finish it all so that I will never be late to update for you guys.**

**Also, you can thank DiamondInMyHeart for the extra information. *coughs* I'm pretty sure she put that in for all of you who hate Saki and wish for her painful death….. She does too….**

**Please leave me a review! Even people that are not sighed in are welcome. Thanks for all of the reviews! I couldn't respond to all of them. Next chapter, I will ethier thank you personally or in the AN at the bottom.**

**(Ps: My birthday was Monday so I also was busy with that… )**

**Please review! **

**-WhisperToTheWolves **


	28. Chapter 25

Chapter Twenty Five

Temporary Stalker

**(Disclaimer: I totally own this… *meanwhile thinks* ****_What are they talking about?)_**

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Saki glared at the two people pass unknowingly by her on their way. More specifically, a girl her age.

'That witch!' She sparked furiously to herself. 'How dare she hang out with my man?!'

Saki watched from the distance as Mai smiled at something Naru had said. Saki thought she saw him smile, but them it was gone. It must have been a mistake. There is no way that a man like him would smile at a stupid girl like her. Saki could still remember the day that she had caused Mai Taniyama to trip and fall. She smirked. That had been a glorious victory.

She was still thinking treasuring those moments, until she remembered what had happened right afterward. Her smirk turned into a scowl as she recalled every little piece of that moment. Naru had helped Mai off the floor and glared at Saki. After he told Saki off, he walked away still holding Mai with his hand. They had left her like that until they went out of her sight.

Saki cursed under her breath at the two teens as then walked out of her sight and into the room they called 'base'.

From inside, laughter was heard and Saki scowl grew deeper. The distinct laughter of Mai joined in and Saki swore at the girl underneath her breath.

"He will be MINE!" Saki hissed with her fists clenched at he sides. "You little piece of crap." And with that, Saki silently stormed away brewing anger beneath her skin.

* * *

Mai brushed the tears of laughter out of her eyes. She tucked a piece of hair back behind her ear as she smiled up at Yasuhara. "I remember that! I almost died laughing then!"

She giggled slightly again and turned to her boss. Yasu started to converse with Masako again like he did before the teens had walked in.

Just as Mai expected, Naru was back and had moved over to the monitors again. As he looked at them, Mai could see Lin roll his eyes and frown disapprovingly. A strange feeling tugged at the back of Mai's mind. She looked around, but could see nothing wrong. It almost felt like…. She was being watched.

Mai looked behind her and saw that the two mischievous partners had stopped talking and were analyzing Mai. Masako's sleeve unconsciously rose in her old habit to cover her mouth. Whispers were heard as she looked Mai over and talked to Yasu again. Yasu nodded and whispered something back. John was looked very confused because he could not hear what they were saying.

Mai's bad feeling increased as she watched Yasu's mouth started to twitch into a smile. Maybe she should think of something to distract both of them while she could….

"Hey Mai." Masako piped up. "Do you want to do another walk around with me?"

Too Late.

Mai gulped and tried hard to think of what Masako could be planning. "Umm…. I don't really think that is good idea right now. Plus, do we really need to?" she laughed nervously. A thought struck Mai as she remembered Masako smirking when she discovered Naru in Mai's bedroom. Oh god….. Her plan was to interrogate Mai!

Mai froze and tried to think of a way out of this. Masako lowered her kimono sleeve and smiled innocently at Mai.

John looked at Mai. Her face looked nervous and actually kind of scared. The silence in the room was not doing much for him and he wished to get rid of it as soon as possible. Yasu and Masako are the ones that are causing it. Maybe he should try to separate them.

"Ah-h Masako-san, Yasuhara-san, would you like to go with me to bring back dinner for everyone?" Masako looked up at John with wide eyes as he put his hand in his pocket. Yasuhara looked confused. John spoke again to clarify.

"Everyone bound to be getting hungry. It's about five thirty."

Naru turned his chair and supported his weight on the back of it. "Let's wait a little bit John. It's still a little early."

John blushed slightly and rubbed the back of his head. "I'm sorry mate. I'm used to eating early, so I forgot. My mistake."

Naru nodded. "Don't worry about it. However…" He shifted his gaze from the Australian to his assistant. "Tea would be helpful."

Mai dropped her jaw. "You can't be serious! I just made you tea less than half an hour ago!" Naru raised ah eyebrow and said nothing.

When Mai realized that he was serious, her shoulders sagged. She turned around and headed to the door.

"Hold on, I thought that Mai was not allowed to be alone as much as possible?"

Masako looked at Naru with her innocent face. Naru shifted his look from Mai to Masako and back again. "That is correct Hara-san. Accompany Mai."

Mai sulked as she waited for Masako to walk to her. When she was close enough to tell Mai something the others would not here, she dipped in close to Mai.

"Come now, you didn't think that you were going to get away from me did you? Its better that you tell me before Takigawa makes you tell him later. He can tell that you and Naru are acting a bit… differently than normal. However, if you tell me what happened, I might be able to convince him that nothing happened."

Mai's shoulders dropped lower in a childish behavior. "Fine, but just to let you know, this isn't going to be like this every time."

Masako smirked in victory as the two left the base, Mai looking less excited than Masako was.

Naru watched them leave out of the corner of his eye. As soon as they had gone out of his sense of hearing, he turned back toward the monitors. As they walked down the hallway, he made sure that nothing was there until they were halfway. At that point, he made sure that the rest of the cameras were showing regular results and signs.

"Hey Naru," Takigawa said as he watched the teen do all of this. "Why are you acting so paranoid? I know that they are girls and all, but at least give them a little credit."

Naru turned around in his chair and Monk wished that he had said nothing. He might have lived a little longer.

"I am not being paranoid. However, neither one of them are skilled exorcists and might be in need of assistance should it arise."

Monk held his hands up. "Alright, alright, I won't ask next time."

Naru raised an eyebrow. "I don't recall saying anything negative." With that he turned around and watched the monitors once again. Takigawa ran a hand through his hair and mumbled to himself.

Lin smirked and shook his head when no one was watching. To himself he whispered. "Maybe one day he will understand, but it won't be anytime soon."

John, who was nearby, held up his cross. "Amen."

Lin almost smiled.

* * *

"So nothing happened? Are you absolutely sure?" Masako questioned seriously. They were almost to the kitchen as they walked hand in hand down the hall. Mai could only speculate that this was what Masako did to try to keep her from running ahead and avoiding all of her questions.

"Yea I'm sure. All I did was unpack my clothes after walking back from the kitchen. THAT'S ALL!"

Masako raised one of her eyebrows. "Oh so Naru saw you unpack your clothes? So tell me, did he see anything interesting?"

Mai blushed and tried hard to yank away the hand that prevented her from getting away. "Oh. My. God. If you say anything like that again and I will strangle you to death. You will never see the light of day again."

Masako laughed and let go of Mai's hand. She wasn't going to get anything out of it anyway. Mai rubbed her wrist softly to try to get the blood flow to activate again. As soon as Mai's blush died, she raised her hand to her precious necklace. Masako watched her for a moment before speaking.

"What's wrong Mai? Something on your mind?"

"Well you see," She said. "I am a little confused. Recently Naru has had me sleeping in the base. But now, he has me sleeping in my own room. I mean, he didn't even schedule a room with you and me or anything."

Masako covered her mouth nonchalantly and spoke in an even voice. "Maybe he couldn't stand the thought of you sharing a room with anybody, and staying in the base would probably tempt him too much. He probably wouldn't be able to handle you while you are sleeping."

Mai looked aghast at Masako. "Masako what in the world is wrong with you!" She never even thought that Masako would be such a pervert!

Masako giggled and lifted her sleeve to her mouth before putting it down again.

Mai's red face concerned Masako slightly, but at least it was normal for her. However, what happened next was not.

Apparently the devils daughter decided to make an appearance again. Saki took a step outside of one of the hallway rooms and glared at the two of them.

"Oh great." She sneered at Mai. "It's you again. Why won't you just leave already? I can tell that you just here because he is."

Mai erased her blush and emotion from her face. Her eyes were blank along with everything else that showed what she was feeling. She ignored Saki and continued to walk to the kitchen.

Masako glared at Saki furiously. She glanced at Mai and saw her calm façade. How could she be so indifferent?! Masako's stone face watched Saki as she slowed down. Mai continued to walk; unaware of the fact that Masako had stopped. When Mai was a little ways away, Masako turned her eyes toward Saki. Saki smirked.

"Oh I'm sorry, did I strike a nerve?" She leaned forward and looked Masako in the eyes. The two were less than an inch apart before Saki spoke again. "I don't care what you try to do. He will be MINE. Call it what you will, but none of you are worthy of him."

Masako said nothing as she started to walk again. Before completely catching up to Mai, she turned around and smiled coldly at Saki.

"She is the only friend I have ever had. If you hurt Mai, I will personally hurt you. Whether it is emotionally of physically, the choice is yours to make."

Without looking back, she caught up to Mai and walked along side her. Saki glared at the two teens and started following them without them knowing.

When Mai and Masako had reached the kitchen, they said nothing. The joking mood that they had before vanished when Saki had appeared. Mai pulled the teapot that was on the counter onto the stove and started boiling the water that was inside.

Saki entered the kitchen to see that the two girls had started to prepare tea. She sneered at the two of them and marched up.

Mai could feel that someone was behind her before the shadow descended. She turned around just in time to Saki in her face. Saki glared at them and snatched the teacup out of Mai's hand. She took the slightly boiling water and dumped it messily into the cup. She grabbed one of the tea bags that were in the cabinet and placed it into the cup. Smugly, she walked out of the kitchen.

Mai shook her head and pulled out another cup. She carefully poured the water after she had set the different tea in. She added one cube of sugar that she found in a jar nearby. Masako smiled at Mai and left the kitchen in pursuit of Saki. Mai followed her as soon as she threw the used tea bag into the garbage.

Mai caught up with Masako, careful not to spill the tea, right before they entered the base. They walked in just in time to see Saki had her tea to Naru. Mai tried to tell Naru not to drink it, but Naru spoke before she did.

"Who made this tea?" Naru said. When nobody was looking, Yasu slipped his hand into his pocket.

Saki batted her eyelashes and smiled at Naru. "I did. I heard your female assistant say that she was tired of making you tea. I told her that you pay her, but she ignored me." At this point Mai was scowling at Saki as she watched Saki put on her fake sad face.

Everyone else, even Lin started glaring at Saki. It was so obvious that she was lying. Yasu smiled and waited for his opportunity to come. Monk watched Yasu with a bad feeling as he saw the evil mastermind plotting something.

Naru looked over at Mai and saw that another steaming hot cup of tea was in her hand. That meant that this girl was lying. Why would Mai refuse to make him tea anyway? It was her job.

Naru motioned for Saki to move. Confused, Saki moved out of sight of Naru's youngest assistant. Naru motioned for Mai to walk forward.

Mai could almost laugh at the fact that Saki was brushed off like she was nothing. She walked forward and extended her hand to give Naru his tea. Naru said nothing as he took a sip. He turned back to the shocked Saki. Meanwhile, Mai went to go and stand next to Masako.

"W-why would you drink her tea, but not mine?" She stuttered.

Naru set his glass down on the monitor table. He turned to Saki with cold eyes. "You do realize that you just contradicted yourself right?"

Saki widened her eyes. She gritted her teeth together and pointed her finger at Mai angrily. "Why is it that you always take her side? Why don't you just be with me?!"

Naru's cold gaze stared hard at Saki. "Why do you keep trying to interfere with what we are hired for? We are here to clean your house of ghosts or any other paranormal situations. Nothing more."

Naru then tunred around and searched through the monitors again. The base room was silent.

"Wh-hy can't you just love me?" Saki asked. Her eyes filled slightly with tears and her face looked frustrated. The rest of the group had no sympathy for the girl. Naru turned around.

"You automatically assumed that I would go with you. Unfortunately for you, I am in control of my own body and can make my own educated decisions. Based on these educated decisions, I have deduced that you are an immature spoiled adolescent."

Mai covered her mouth in shock. Naru almost never said anything like that. In all the times that she had been working for him, he never said that to any of their clients or there family.

"It's your entire fault!" Saki screamed at Mai. "If he had never met you, he would be with me right now!"

Mai rolled her eyes and was about to respond when Naru shot up from his chair and looked at the clients daughter. "Get out." He said tensely. "I am not aware if you have conversed with your father or not, but if you haven't then I would recommend doing that now." He pushed the chair out of the way and looked toward the girl. "I will tolerate your inaccurate assumption about my feelings toward you, but when you interfere with me or my team, you will be forced to leave. I will not tolerate any more of this behavior."

Mai stared wide eyed at Naru. Maybe this girl had bothered Naru on more than one occasion.

Saki blinked back her tears and headed for the door. On her way out, she stops two feet in from of Mai and Masako. Hatred and anger burned in her eyes as she stared at Mai.

"Look at what your existence has done."

Mai did nothing, but Masako had had enough. She took a step forward and looked Saki straight in the eyes.

"I don't think that you are aware of the situation you are in. If you did, I don't think that you would be bothering us after what I said to you in the hallway."

Saki gritted her teeth and stood her ground. "Look who's talking! You're just an everyday cut rate medium who faints as the slightest sign of ghosts."

Masako took a step forward, but something stopped her second step. Behind her, Mai was holding on to her left wrist. She shook her head. "We both know that she is not worth it." She whispered softly.

Masako looked at her best friend for a moment before she looked down at the ground. "Mai, I know that you won't do anything about it. You are such a kind hearted person. But I'm not going to let her talk about you like this, nor is she going to talk to me that way. This the way I am, just like you are you. She has just insulted everything that I have been since the age of ten." She tugged at her wrist again, desperately hoping that Mai would understand.

Mai's eyes softened and she sighed. She released her hold and smiled softly at Masako. "I understand, but don't do anything that you will regret." Masako looked up and smiled at Mai. Mai sighed again and took a step back. She gestured to Saki.

Masako looked up at Saki and her eyes hardened. Saki had a smug expression on her face. She heard nothing that Mai and Masako said. Her expression faulted slightly as she saw Masako step forward. Slightly fearful of what she was going to do.

Yasu looked rather confident although no one knew what for. Takigawa, who was next to Yasu, wondered what Yasu was holding in his hand deep inside his pocket. He didn't get to find out because right behind him, the squeak of Lin and Naru's chair simultaneously occurred. He turned to see Naru looking at the two girls emotionlessly and Lin looking passively at them as well.

John looked between the two girls nervously, until he saw something that made his eyes widened.

Masako took the final step, and raising her hand, struck Saki across the face in a backhanded motion.

Monk, and John's faces dropped open loosely. Masako… Just slapped….. Someone….. Mai sighed and watched as Saki fell to the ground in shock.

Saki looked up at the medium holding her cheek and started stuttering. "W-w-why d-d-did y-you…"

Masako looked angrily down on Saki. "While Mai and the others may put up with this, I refuse too." She made a mental note that she forgot to include Naru, but she would fix that later.

Saki glared at her and dropped her hand from her cheek. In its place, three nail lines were beginning to swell and form. She stood up and got in Masako's face. Just as she is about to make her own attack, her hand is grabbed by someone.

While his face wasn't angry, it wasn't happy either. John was almost showing no emotion except for a calm face. Even Mai and Naru were surprised at this point.

"I wouldn't recommend doing that, mate. Masako-chan is all of our friend. We won't take it too kindly if she is hurt by someone." John said in a calm voice.

Saki wrenched her hand away from him. "I'll just tell my father! He won't stand for any of this!"

It was at this moment that Yasu spoke for the first time. "Ah, there is a problem about that though." He swiftly pulled out his cell phone that he had got from Christmas. "I have recorded everything that everybody has said since you have entered the room. I knew that it was going to come in handy."

Saki looked at him in disbelief. She clenched her hands and grinded her teeth together. Taking a deep breath, she left the room.

Monk starts to laugh and pats Yasu on the shoulder. "I was wondering what you were doing! All I saw was that you were messing with something in your pocket."

Yasu put his cell phone away and pushed up his glasses. They glistened and Monk made a mental note to never get this kid angry. "Well of course. What would I do if she saw?"

Monk laughed again and turned to Masako. "You know I never pictured that I would see you slap someone Masako."

Masako made no move and continue to stare at the wall "Is that so odd? I think the thing that is the most surprising is the fact that John stepped in." She turned to John and gave him and small, but grateful smile. He blushed and nodded back. **(1)(Look to notes.)**

John was still embarrassed as he flickered his gaze to Naru. "Ah-h Kazuya-san, would it be alright if Yasuhara, Masako, and I go get dinner now?"

Naru nodded as Monk cheered. "Alright! I need some food after a good cat fight!"

John laughed nervously while Masako sniffed in annoyance. The trio left the room after they had gotten the death glare from Naru about the noise.

Mai sat on the couch finishing the last couple of pages of her English homework. Monk noticing her writing came over to investigate. He leaned over the back of the couch for a few minutes before he got bored.

"Mai why don't you do something with me. That looks really boring. It looks like English."

Mai paused her pencil and looked up at Monk. Irritation was written all over her face.  
"Monk, I need to get this all finished before I go back to school. Plus, just because you can't speak or read it, doesn't mean that it is boring." She turned back down to her work and continued to write the answers to words on the page.

Monk rested his chin on his hand. "How much do you have? I'm bored and I want to do something already. Naru and Lin never talk, so I can never have a conversation with them." He paused for a minute. "And just because I don't know it, you don't need to brag. Can you even speak it fluently?"

Mai went tense and Monk knew immediately that he had said something wrong. Just when Monk thought that Mai was going to snap at him, she smiled up at him innocently.

"**So Monk, what was it that you wanted to talk with me about. I'm doing some of my homework, but I can absolutely do anything that you want~!" ** Mai said with perfect English. She tilted her head to the side in fake confusion. **"Oh you can't understand me? That's too bad. You can borrow my English books to try and learn if you like."**

She turned back to her homework and left Monk with an uncomfortable situation. Wisely, he chose to leave Mai alone and to go sit on the other side of the couch. Where no one was looking, Lin had a smirk on his face. Wait until he told Madoka what Mai had said. Naru sighed and shook his head. He glanced over at Lin for a moment and saw a smile. That means that he has defiantly been conversing with his girlfriend. Whatever had happened to his stoic assistant?

The time passes by very quickly for the four people. When ever Monk had tried to talk to Mai, she spoke in English and eventually he got discouraged. The door opened to the three people that left to get dinner. They all laughed about the conversation they were having. Monk looked like he was going to cry from happiness.

"Thank goodness that you guys are back! Mai-chan is being so mean to me!"

Masako looked over to Mai that was looking over at Monk in confusion. "Monk it's not my fault that I have homework."

"You were speaking in English on purpose!"

Mai looked even more confused. "I was practicing!"

Monk pouted. "You're so mean though. You know that I can't speak English."

Mai shrugged and Masako smirked. "That's not my fault. I offered for you to look at my translation books. You walked away."

Monk widened his eyes. "You never said that!"

Lin turned from the monitor. "Takigawa, she did."

Monk felt shivers go up his spine. Never argue with Lin. He learned that lesson real quick. "Y-yes sir…"

John smiled. "I brought back some dinner. I hope all of you are hungry."

Mai smiled back at him as she put the rest of her books away. "Thanks! I am so hungry now!"

John rubbed the back of his head. "Don't worry about it Mate! I brought plenty for everyone!"

Mai laughed and moved toward him to see what he got! "Ohh nice! I was just thinking about having this!"

John opened the bag wider as Mai looked at it in confusion. "Is something wrong?"

Mai laughs and points at the bag. "Everything is perfect except for the fact that we have nothing to eat it with!"

John looks blankly as Yasu laughs. "That lady must have forgotten to give us them. I'll be right back and will see if Tachibana-san will let us borrow the chopsticks." He left the base as he heard 'thank yous' follow behind him. He made his way to the kitchen. After getting there he saw that Kaito was already there. He has a bowl and is about to pour some ramen into it when he saw Yasu.

"Hello there Yasuhara-san. Is there something that you need?"

Yasu rubbed the back of his head. "We went out and got food, but we forgo chopsticks. We were hoping that we could borrow some of yours."

Kaito laughed. "Of course!" He left the ramen on the counter as he called out at Yasu over his shoulder. "How many are on your team again?"

Yasu did a mental count again before telling him. "We have seven people sir."

Kaito pulled out chopsticks and handed them to Yasu with a gentle, old smile. "Here you go. Enjoy your meal."

Yasu bowed as he took the utensils. "Arigato Tachibana-san!"

The man smiled as Yasu left the room. Such a nice boy.

Meanwhile, Yasu was walking down the hall on the way back to the base. A chill filled the air and Yasu turned to see that a window was open. The sun was setting and the cooling night breeze was coming in.

"I will probably need to wear something warm tonight." He glanced down at his watch. Six fifty six. That was a little early for it to be getting cold in the middle of the summer…

Something sharp grabbed Yasu's ankle and yanked him to the floor. He gasped and dropped all the chopsticks. He tried to turn around to see what had knocked him to the floor, before he was hit on the head. His vision went fuzzy and he closed his eyes.

_Someone…. Help me…. Quick…_

Then his vision went dark.

* * *

"Hey Naru, wasn't Yasu supposed to be back by now? It's been fifteen minutes."

Everyone's plate had been distributed to them, and now they all waited on Yasu.

"It is possible that Yasu is taking some time getting a hold of Tachibana-san."

"But-" Mai shifted in her seat. "I'm getting a really bad feeling that something happened to him."

No one was able to say another thing as Monk jumped out of his seat next to Mai and ran out the door.

"SHONEN!"

Mai placed her food behind her as everyone chased after Monk. She ran out the door and caught up to them by the time they reached the adult male.

Monk was next to him shaking his shoulder. "Yasu! Are you alright!?"

A small groan came from the boy and Monk sighed in relief. He slowly moved the boy to wear his arm was across his shoulders and Lin moved in to help. Mai could see that there was a small bruise on the side of his forehead, and his glasses were broken, but nothing else was damaged. He was going to be okay.

No one said anything on the way back to the base. Lin and Monk carried Yasu back while Mai walked next to Naru. He had a troubled expression on his face and Mai wondered what was so wrong. Why was Naru so concerned with the situation? Sure Yasu was a valuable researcher on the team, but it seemed more than that.

Back in base, Monk and Lin got ready to set Yasu on the couch. Mai moved her and Monk's food before it was laid upon.

Lin and Monk set Yasu down with a groan. Mai removed his glasses and set them down on the nearby table. She gave him one last concerned look before he turned to her boss.

"What's wrong Naru?"

Naru ignored her and looked at his other assistant. "You are sure that none of your shiki saw anything? No sound or spiritual presence?"

Lin nodded. "I didn't know that anything was out of place until Taniyama-san said that something felt wrong to her."

Naru raised his hand to his chin before speaking again. "We need to find out why the ghosts are here. So far we believe that there are at least two ghosts here. Now why are they still here…."

Mai looked again at Yasu before looking away. Naru spoke again

"We are in luck that Yasuhara-san was not permanently injured. However, that may not be the case next time."

Mai clenched her hand before looking out at the last wisps of sunlight. "More importantly, who is going to be the next target?"

* * *

**(1) Just so that you know, I'm not trying to make them a couple.**

**(An: Hope you liked it! I think I got a little out of it, but let me know how I did. One thing I want to ask is 'has my writing gotten any better than when I first started?'**

**All reviews are welcome! Even if they criticize. Just explain why. People that don't have an account can review too!**

**Note: Thank you my anonymous reviewer for family and RT~! You made me smile.)**

**-WhisperToTheWolves**


	29. Chapter 26

Chapter Twenty Six

Late Night Talks and Translations

(**Disclaimer: I don't own Ghost Hunt, just the signature of Todd Haberkorn.)**

* * *

Yasu groaned slightly as he opened his eyes. He lifted himself off of the couch and looked at his surroundings. He blinked at the blurry bright light of Lin's laptop shown out in the dim room. He rubbed the bridge of his nose to confirm that his glasses were no longer on his face. He planted his feet firmly on the ground and looked around to make sure that there wasn't anything else that was going to pop up at him.

A blurry figure stood to his right. Other than that, nothing else that he could see was in the room. He tried to clear his vision again by blinking. He saw blond and he knew who it was.

"Hey John, do you know where my glasses are?"

At the sound of his voice, John turned his head, whether he was looking at Yasu or not, he couldn't tell. He bent over and picked something up before handing it to Yasu's out stretched hand.

"Here you go Yasuhara-san. Mai-san took them off before she left. She said something along the line of them getting broken." He sweat dropped. "I was really tired, so I think that was it."

Yasu slipped on his glasses and laughed as the world came into focus again. He blinked a few times and turned to the now in complete focus John. "I just wonder how she can think ahead with this stuff for us, but not for herself."

John laughed.

A squeak of the chair Lin was sitting on made both of them turn to the Chinese. Lin was looking at Yasu with emotionless eyes.

"Do you remember anything before the incident?"

Yasu frowned. "Not much. I remember coming back from the kitchen after talking to Tachibana-san, the male one. I was holding our chopsticks. I thought it was really cold, but then I saw that the window was open. I was yanked off my feet with a swift pull of my ankle. After that I don't remember anything."

Yasu had dozed out from the real world as he tried to remember anything else that he felt. Meanwhile, John was sitting next to Yasu on the other side of the couch and Lin typed up everything that Yasu was saying.

When Lin finished, he turned around only to be stopped by Yasu's voice.

"Ah yes, I also had a really strange dream." Lin turned to look at him and saw he was staring at the ceiling with tired eyes. Obviously, being attacked wore him out. It's not like it happened very often.

"I couldn't see anything except the blackness that surrounded me. I couldn't move like I do in my normal dreams. I mean they can get really weird sometimes." Lin cleared his throat and Yasu continued.

"Right! Anyways, there was a voice of a child telling me something. I think it was boy, but I could be wrong. He said 'Better protect her Shibuya-san'. Do you know if that means anything?"

Yasu looked up at Lin staring holes into his head. Yasu felt his eyes drop a little more from his lack of sleep. Normally Lin would scare him, but he was too tired right now.

"Are you absolutely sure that was what the spirit said?"

Yasu nodded. "Yea. Is there something about that that makes it so special?"

Lin turned back to his laptop. As he typed up this new information, he exclaimed. "Taniyama-san and I discovered a ghost say that in Noll's and my room. You had not heard the information, therefore, there is a distinct possibility that either you are showing signs of paranormal abilities, or your wave length was close to that of the owners. In the most likely hood it was the later. Most of the time, only Taniyama-san gets these visions or dream like situations. If Mai was the only one to receive it, we will have you tested."

Yasu gulped. "That won't hurt will it?"

Lin turned his head and stared at him. "If you are worried about it, then discuss with Taniyama-san about it." Yasu gulped again.

"When Noll comes back to base, I will inform him about it."

Yasu nodded and John spoke. "Lin-san, what if one of the clients was to have this dream tonight? More importantly, who are they talking about? Could it be Masako or Mai-san?"

Lin shrugged lightly. "We will have to discuss it. However, the ghost has already given Mai dreams, so the target is most likely her. If a client has this same dream, then it will just point more in the direction that Yasuhara-san is not spiritually active."

Lin turned back to Yasu. "Yasuhara-san." Yasu met Lin's eyes worriedly. "Try not to worry about it. You have shown no signs of ESP or PK. I have been very alert to these things ever since Taniyama-san was discovered. Noll once discussed it with me. He doesn't think that you have any abilities either. While it is possible to develop these skills over time, you don't have the need too. You also have to actively practice for years. Even then, that doesn't always work, no matter the person."

Yasu blinked. That must have been the most information that he ever heard Lin say at any time. Lin raised an eyebrow and waited for him to speak. Yasu relaxed his shoulders as he thought more about it.

"So I'm probably not?"

Lin shook his head. "Probably not."

The twenty year old sighed in relief. "Thank goodness. I really don't need more of it on my plate." Lin rolled his eyes and turned back to the computer. John stood up and stretched.

"I'm tired, so I'm going to bed. So you all tomorrow mates." He turned to Lin. "I'll be back in a few hours to switch." John left the room and headed to the room that he shared with Monk and the boy on the couch. After a few minutes had passed, Yasu laid back on the pillow that he hadn't realized had been placed on the couch. He wearily turned to the Omnyoji.

"Hey Lin-san?" Lin paused his typing and Yasu knew that he was listening. "Would it be alright if I continued to sleep in here?"

Lin started up his typing again. "I don't see why not. It's the safest place in the house for you at the moment. However, if you start to snore then I will throw the headphones at you. No one will know I did anything."

Yasu chuckled lightly as he let his eyes close. "Who knew that you had a sense of humor Lin-san?"

Lin rolled his eyes. "I am a person Yasuhara-san. Just because I do not make talking an active part of everyday life does not mean that I don't 'have a sense of humor' as you put it."

Yasu said nothing as Lin continued to type. The buzzing of the electronics and the rhythm of Lin's typing slowly faded from his consciousness as he went back to a dreamful sleep about Naru and Lin wearing pink tutus.

* * *

Mai woke up. Protect her… Shibuya-san? This again? She blinked and sat up in her bed and looked around. Even though the light was off, Mai could see through everything in the room. The moonlight coming through the window was bright and almost blinding. Mai covered her eyes with her forearm before looking around at the empty space. She pulled her feet out of the warm sheets and shivered. She couldn't tell what time it was, but she knew that it was late. There was no way that it could be even close to morning. The moon was still up too high.

She stood up and walked to her door. She exited the room and headed to the only place that someone else was up. Base.

She walked down the halls until she saw the light that streamed underneath the door. She gently opened the door and looked inside.

Lin sat at the computers with his fingers roaming the board. That wasn't surprising. She let her eyes wander and saw that Yasu was still sleeping on the couch. She scoffed slightly in irritation when she saw that his glasses were on his face. She glared and walked over to him. She took of his glasses again and placed them on the table next to the couch.

"They going to get broken," Mai murmured. "And then I'm going to be the one that said I told them so."

"Maybe so."

Mai turned around to Lin. He wasn't looking at her, but he must have heard her. She walked next to him and sat down in the seat that was normally reserved for Naru. She looked at him as he typed. She watched as he paused and pulled up a new document. He turned to Mai.

"I can only assume that you are up do to a dream."

Mai sighed and nodded. "Yea. There wasn't much but it was dark and a child was saying the same thing that was heard in you and Naru's bedroom. 'Protect her Shibuya-san'. I think it's the boy from my dream. In fact I'm positive."

Lin typed this all down and hummed. "Interesting."

"What do you mean?"

Lin saved and closed the document before turning back to her. "Yasuhara-san had a dream exactly like that. If anyone else has that dream, then it's likely that it was just a coincidence. If not, then it's a possibility…"

Lin trailed off and Mai finished it. "That he might be psychic." She whispered.

Lin nodded. "I doubt it though. He never he heard or believed in ghosts before the incident at his school. While that doesn't justify him not having them…" Lin thought about it for a minute before starting something new. "Either way, he won't have to worry about it. It's not like he doesn't have help."

Mai blinked. That was strange of Lin to say. He seemed to be more open about the rest of the irregulars now.

"So if you told Yasu all of these things that must mean that he was up right? Why didn't he go to his room?"

"Isn't it safer in here? We don't know if he was attacked by a spirit of a human yet. Although either is possible."

Mai slowly nodded. "I see what you mean."

The room went silent as the conversation ceased. Outside Mai heard an owl and the rustling of trees. She looked out and tired to make some sense of this case.

'_Well it's obvious that the boy is here. I had multiple dreams about him and Yasu and I got these warnings. But is he the only one here? The blonde doctor may or may not be here. I haven't had anything from her pop up. Wait a minute.' _Mai paused in her thoughts and raised her hand to her chin in a very Naru-like manor. 'When_ the ghost showed up in Naru's room, Lin didn't detect a spiritual presence. However, when Masako did a walk around, she could tell that there were two ghosts here. What's up with that?'_

Mai turned to Lin. "Hey I just thought of something. How come when the spirit showed up in your room, you weren't able to detect it, but Masako could sense it."

Lin turned to Mai. "When I asked them later, they said they had sensed it, but I was sleeping. Apparently they tried to tell me."

Mai pouted. "And I thought I had thought of something good." She thought for a minute. "Were they able to sense when Yasu was attacked in the hallway?"

Lin shook his head. "And that's where our problem lies."

Mai sighed. "We can figure it out later." Lin nodded.

The room went silent for a moment before she spoke to Lin again. "Lin…. How long has it been since you had a good sleep."

Lin tensed and remembered the last time this had been asked. A flashback of Naru getting thrown out of base came to his mind. Gulp.

"I'm going to bed in an hour." He said quickly. "Brown-san is coming between one and one thirty to take over."

Mai narrowed her eyes. "Are you absolutely positive?"

Lin almost gulped. Mai was like Madoka in so many ways. Maybe instead of Madoka coming to Japan, e should go back to England for a break…. It was a bad idea to put the two of them together. Who knows what could happen. Lin nodded.

"Alright then." Mai said. "I believe you." Lin unknowingly released the tension from his shoulders. Mai smiled to herself.

"Hey Lin?"

Lin turned his narrow eyes toward her to show that he was listening.

"Knowing that Yasu isn't psychic, would that mean that the spirit was just close to his wave length? I heard Naru talking about that one time on one of our other cases."

Lin nodded. "If the spirit is strong, or the victim is close to their wave length, it is possible that the victim may have a vision of whatever is necessary or shown at the time."

Mai nodded again. "So that means that this spirit is strong?"

Lin nodded. "That would seem to be the case."

Mai grumbled and leaned back in Naru's chair. She looked outside the small window and noted that the sun had yet to rise. How late was it exactly?

"Lin, what time is it?"

Lin paused for a moment before checking the bottom corner of his computer. "Twelve sixteen. Taniyama-san, you should go back to bed. We don't know how this investigation is going to be like tomorrow." Lin paused. "Today."

Mai shook her head. "There is no way that I can go back to sleep. I'll just keep thinking until it is time for me to get up. I might as well do something like stay in the base where I'm safer. I'm not sharing my room with anyone right now, so I might get attacked." She tilted her head as she thought to herself. "Wait…. If I'm the danger magnet, then why did Naru put me in my own room?"

Lin said nothing, but smirked to himself. Noll had placed Mai in her own room because the room that she had would have been the one she really liked. If she stayed in one of the other bedrooms with Masako, then she would not have had a view like she did. Knowing Noll though, he played dumb and said nothing about it. And sense he had already asked Monk to place some of his and Ayako's charms where Mai couldn't see them, she would be completely safe.

Meanwhile, Mai continued to muse over the fact. No matter what she tried, she couldn't figure it out. She sighed and looked at the neglected monitors. All of the temperatures were normal and nobody or nothing seemed to be moving in the halls. Mai sighed and placed her chin in her hand. Now she was bored. Her eyes scanned the room for something to do. She caught sight of her the English homework that she had moved when Yasu was set on the couch. Maybe she would be able to finish it by the time the rest of the team was up.

Mai grumbled and got up from Naru's chair. She walked over to the couch and pulled her homework that sat near it. She flipped through the pages to see that she only had four more. She smiled and went back to Naru's chair. She picked up the pencil that was to the left of one of the monitors and finished her homework off. Mai sighed closed the booklet.

It wasn't even a challenge for her anymore. She had been learning English since before Naru and Lin had left for England. Although she wasn't that good then, when they left, she had a sudden urge to learn.

From then on, she studied English at home and whenever she had free time at her work. When she took up her following year for school, she enrolled in the highest foreign language for English.

She aced all of her tests and never had to do anything in the classroom. Lots of the other students complained, but the teacher knew that Mai spoke the language well enough that she didn't need to learn anymore.

After her first week, her teacher had asked if Mai spoke the language since early childhood. When Mai said no, the teacher was surprised and laughed. The only time that she gave Mai homework was when she went on cases with SPR. She said it was just to keep Mai actively memorizing so that she could practice.

Lin glanced at Mai and saw that she finished. She placed the pencil and booklet down next to the monitors. Lin watched her do that for a moment before looking at her curious expression.

"That is your English homework right?"

Mai nodded. "Yea, but I just finished."

Lin turned back to the laptop. "You are aware of the fact that I speak English right."

Mai had to contain herself from laughing out loud. "Nope." She smiled. "I don't ever recall hearing you speak in English especially not in my English classroom."

Lin sighed. First Yasu and then Mai. "I could test you if you want."

Mai wrinkled her face a little bit. "How?"

"What if I say something in Japanese from your packet? After, repeat it back to me, only in English instead."

Mai thought for a minute. This would be excellent practice and probably the only time that she would get the chance. Plus, she could get extra tips from Lin. He did live in England for who knows how long.

"Alright!" Mai said, smiling at Lin. "Shoot."

Lin hummed as Mai handed him the packet. He pulled it closer to him once it was firmly in his hand. The fifty pages felt heavy in his hand and he looked at his coworker.

"Why do you have so much work?" Do they give you stuff like this all the time?"

Mai laughed. "Just me. I'm the only one that gets that much work because I finish it so fast. Plus, I only get it when I'm on cases now. I'm at the top of my class, and the stuff that they are doing currently is too easy for me. I've fallen asleep in that class sometimes because of it." She blushed.

Lin nodded. "That's not that surprising. You have excelled greatly since me and Noll left. We both see the improvement in your work ethic as well."

Mai blushed. "Thanks Lin."

Lin bowed his head lightly. "The pleasure is all mine." Mai laughed.

Lin cleared his throat as he began testing her. "The library has many books." He paused and before Mai could say anything, he spoke again. "I saw when you were speaking to you teacher. These assignments are too easy for you as well aren't they." Mai blushed and turned her head. Lin looked at her until she nodded to his response.

Lin sighed. He put down the packet and started typing on his laptop again. Mai worried that he wasn't going to test her until he cleared his throat again.

"The library by the park has many books and categories." Mai frowned for a minute. "**The ribrary by the park has many books and categories."(1) **Mai said fluently.

Lin furrowed his eyebrows. "Library."

"**Library."**

Lin looked in confusion at Mai. She was able to say the 'L' sound perfectly fine. "Taniyama-san, you mixed up library in the sentence. Say it again."

"**The library by the park has many books and categories."**

Lin nodded acceptingly "Be careful not to mix up the two. People will look at you weird in a different country."

Mai smiled. "Alright."

As they continued on with Mai's testing. They went from the pronunciation of words, to long sentences to paragraphs. Eventually, Lin got tired of this and started conversing with Mai in full out English. She kept up with him the whole time and Lin smiled near the end.

**"I think the only thing that you have to work on now if your accent. Now, I can teach you an English accent. If you want an American, you will have to go to someone else. I have never been to America and I have not seen the way that they converse with one another."**

Mai laughed. **"How come you and Naru talk all formal using complex words and stuff? I mean, I understand Naru and such because he is a professor. But you aren't right?"**

**"I suppose it's become a habit because of being around Noll so much."**

Mai laughed "What ever you say Lin"

As Lin slowly taught Mai the accent, she thought of ways to repay him for his kindness that he showed to her today. After all, he continued to practice with her up to the point that John walked in to take over.

John opened the door to the base at one twenty-six. He walked up to his two team members to find Mai practicing English with Lin. John quickly noticed the English accent as he stopped right behind them. He cleared his throat and the two SPR members jumped.

Mai and Lin turned around quickly only to find an embarrassed John scratching the back of his head. "Sorry Mates. I was hoping that you noticed me. I didn't mean to scare you."

Mai laughed. "Don't worry about it."

Lin stood up abruptly from his chair and left the room. John watched him with confused eyes. "What's wrong with Lin-san?"

Mai shrugged. "Who knows?"

John smiled down on Mai. "You know speak English too. Want some more help?"

Mai grinned back up at her second teacher of the day.

* * *

Lin walked down the halls to the room he shared with his charge. John's arrival had startled him. Lately, his shiki seemed to doze off and not warn him of things he requested of. They only did this when they knew that something as going to happen. Whether it is something that is supernatural or something unsettling in general.

Although it was possible for them to slack off, he had never had them do that on a case before. It was highly…. Disturbing.

Lin stopped in front of the door to his room ready to open it when he heard murmurs inside. He stopped his hand that had been about to open the door and placed it back down at his side. He listened for a moment. Although he couldn't here it all, he could tell that someone was speaking in English. He could practically see his boss sitting on his bed talking to someone.

Lin opened the door and looked inside. Naru sat on his bed, like he suspected, holding a phone to his ear. He was in simple black night clothes and his hair was tousled. Although light, slight dark lines circled his eyes.

Naru noticed Lin and gestured with his head to come in. The bed Naru sat on was his own. The dark blue sheets were messed up, which proved that he had been sleeping before the caller had interrupted. It was better for Naru to have been awake and stayed up late rather then waking up from sleep too soon.

"**Yes mother." **Naru sighed. **"But is there a reason as to the call that you have given me tonight." **Silence for a moment.

"**I don't know when I will be back in Japan. If you don't mind, we are in the middle of a case. While it is only later afternoon there… it's past midnight here."**

More silence filled the room. Lin could almost here the complaining that Luella was doing. He continued to stare at Naru as he waited for the call to end. Naru sighed and Lin knew that Luella didn't want to stop talking to him.

Lin held out his hand to the phone. Naru sighed again and handed his assistant the phone. Lin held it up to his ear and heard a ranting Luella come through the phone.

**"… and we both know that you haven't been home for a while Noll, so don't try to say that it wasn't that long ago. Are you even listening to me? If you don't-"**

**"Ms. Davis." **Lin said calmly**. "Before we came to Japan, you told me to watch over Noll. You told me to be especially aware of his health. I'm telling you now, if Noll does not get some sleep, he will be in poor health."**

Luella had gone silent and only a few sounds of the phone shifting could be heard. Lin knew that it was only a matter of time until she would give in. She and her husband knew all too well that Lin was responsible. If he was saying that it was necessary, it was necessary.

A loud sigh was heard through the phone as Luella's voice came back. **"Alright. But tell him to call me soon. It gets lonely here when Martin is still as work."**

Lin nodded even though he knew that she could not see him. "**Alright Ms. Davis. Please sleep well tonight." **Lin hit the end button and handed the cell phone back to Naru.

With a groan of exhaustion, Naru grabbed it before falling back onto his bed with a thud. He placed it on his nightstand before going back under the now cold sheets.

Lin watched him for a moment before beginning to change into his night clothes. He changed quickly and walked over to his own bed. He slipped beneath the blue covers and looked over at his charge one more time.

"One thing before you go to bed Noll."

Naru turned over in his bed so that he could look tiredly at Lin. "What is it?

"Yasuhara-san and Taniyama-san both came into base today. Well just Taniyama-san as Yasuhara-san was already there. They both had synching dream with one another. Both of them saw a dark place with a voice there. It was the same thing the child told you in this room."

Naru groaned. "Just what we need."

Lin shrugged lightly before settling completely down on his pillow. "It's still odd." Said the professor. "Why would he tell me to protect someone? Why not you or Takigawa? Both of you are bigger in mass then me. Not to mention taller."

Lin shrugged. "I think we should find out who it is before going and trying to think about why."

"It's probably Mai. She attacks trouble wherever she goes." Lin tilted his head. "That may be true." Lin hummed.

"Thanks for the information." Naru said tiredly. "I'll take care of it at a later date."

Lin nodded. "Good night Noll."

"Night."

* * *

The sunshine streamed through Monk's window brightly. Monk turned over and tried to block it out. If he didn't have to get up right now, then he wasn't going to. Monk pulled the curtains up over his body to try to block out any noise. However, when the temperature began to rise under the cloth, he sat threw it off of him.

In the next bed over, all was silent. Normally John would be like this as well, even if he was a priest. Monk poked his head out of his pillows and the two empty beds. John and Yasu weren't in the room. Monk slowly got out of the bed groaning as pops rung throughout his back.

"If they all left without me, I'm going to wring their necks." He grumbled.

He looked around the room to make sure that they were really gone and it wasn't his imagination. Yep. The room was still and nothing other than him was inside. He stretched and headed for the bathroom door ten feet from his bed.

"Might as well get ready first."

* * *

He opened the door to the base to find there were already people inside.

"Good morning!"

Mai, Masako, and John all looked up at him. John and Mai smiled back.

"Morning Monk. Did you sleep well?"

Monk shrugged "Fine I guess." He looked around for two more people after he saw Yasu on the couch. "Where are Lin and Naru?"

As if on cue, both walked into base ready for the day. As normal, both wore black, besides the white shirt underneath Lin's normal attire.

John stood up relieved. "Well, I'm going to get breakfast for all of us. Do any of you want to come with me?"

Masako stood up and walked over to him. "I'll come with you. I think going out of the house a little bit will be good for me. The spirits have been angry."

Naru turned at her comment, but before he could say anything, they had already left the base. He sighed and turned to his chair, only to see that his younger assistant was sitting in it. He raised an eyebrow at the fact that she looked to be reading a book. He heard her whispering to herself and ignored the part of him that wanted to make a comment. Lin made one for him.

"Studying all the time is not the best thing Taniyama-san."

Mai looked up at him and Naru could see that she was more then slightly tired. She rubbed her eyes and he wondered how much sleep she actually got.

"But I want to finish this already." She noticed that Naru was waiting for her to move and left his seat. She walked over to the wall and sat against it. Hopefully, she would be able to get this accent down soon. It bothered her when she couldn't do something.

Lin sighed. "I tried." He grumbled to himself.

Meanwhile, Naru was watching his assistant study her English book against the wall.

"Well at least she is doing something productive." He copied Lin and grumbled back at him. Lin huffed and the two of the watched the monitors and cameras unknowing, that later that day, someone would be attacked.

* * *

(1) Sometimes when a Japanese or English learner is trying to learn the other language, they confuse and mix the 'L' sound with the 'R' sound. This is most common between Japanese to English learners. This is why Mai says 'ribrary' instead of 'library'.

**(An: Sorry that this is a little late. Thanks for all the reviews! They really helped me through this chapter! Sorry if it seemed a little off. Let me know what you thought. This is probably one of the most….. Unactive chapters that I have written so far.**

**Let me know what you think.**

**-WhisperToTheWolves**


	30. All the cats fault

Hey everyone! I know it had been a long time since I updated, and I'm sorry for that. I just want to let you know that I was planning to update a lot sooner. I have the chapter all planned out and everything. But... well to say it plain, my cat broke my brand new netbook. I had deleted everything on my mom's laptop and moved it there. I should be able to get it back one I find my usb drive thing.

I apologize again. I know that I owe u guys, and I will make it up somehow.

Thank you for your understanding and sticking with me and this story.

-WhisperToTheWolves


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